WASHINGTON — Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, said the administration is reviewing allegations of possible immigration fraud involving Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN), reigniting a long-running and highly contentious political controversy.
Speaking Monday on Newsmax, Homan said he recently discussed the matter with a senior fraud investigator from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and is now pursuing a review of relevant immigration records.
“I just got advised by a fraud investigator the other day on that,” Homan said. “I asked the question, can we review the files? You know, there was immigration fraud involved. The statute of limitations became an issue in the last four years when this was first brought up.”
Homan added that the investigator—whom he described as one of HSI’s most experienced—believes the case merits examination.
“We’re pulling the records now, pulling the files, and we’re looking at it,” Homan said. “There’s no doubt he’d review the file. So I’m running that down this week, and we’ll see.”
Longstanding Allegations, Firm Denials
The allegations referenced by Homan stem from claims promoted by President Trump and some conservative figures that Omar married her brother in order to obtain U.S. immigration benefits—an accusation Omar has repeatedly and forcefully denied.
Omar was born in Somalia in 1982. Her family fled the country during the civil war when she was eight years old, spending several years in a refugee camp in Kenya before being granted asylum and arriving in the United States in 1995. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2000 at the age of 17.
Newsweek reached out to Omar’s office for comment.
Trump Escalates Rhetoric
President Trump revived the allegation during a rally this week, using inflammatory language while calling for Omar’s removal from the country. His remarks drew immediate backlash from Democrats and civil rights groups, who condemned them as racist and dangerous.
Omar responded on X, writing, “Trump’s obsession with me is beyond weird. He needs serious help. Since he has no economic policies to tout, he’s resorting to regurgitating bigoted lies instead. He continues to be a national embarrassment.”
In a statement to Newsweek, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin emphasized that DHS treats all marriage fraud allegations seriously, while stopping short of confirming any specific investigation into Omar.
“Our message is clear: do not engage in marriage fraud or you will face the consequences of American justice including severe fines, arrest, jail time and deportation,” McLaughlin said. “Marriage fraud undermines the integrity of America’s immigration system.”
Immigration Enforcement Context
The renewed controversy comes as immigration enforcement remains a central focus of the Trump administration. DHS announced this week that enforcement operations have resulted in more than 605,000 deportations since January 20, with an additional 1.9 million individuals reportedly self-deporting voluntarily since January 2025.
Trump’s comments also arrive amid heightened rhetoric targeting Minnesota’s Somali community, which Omar represents as the first Somali American elected to Congress.
“No matter what words Trump throws at me, I will not let that deter my work for the people of the Fifth District,” Omar said. “Trump should know by now that he should never pick a fight with a Somali woman.”
As of now, no formal charges or findings related to the allegations have been announced, and any review remains in its preliminary stages.
Trump in desperate scramble to salvage Ukraine peace deal as he dispatches trusted envoy to Putin
Trump in desperate scramble to salvage Ukraine peace deal as he dispatches trusted envoy to Putin
Donald Trump has dispatched his trusted special envoy to Moscow for crunch talks with Vladimir
Putin amid fears his Ukraine peace plan is unraveling.
Ukraine agreed to a new 19-point deal, a US official confirmed on Tuesday, but the terms are less favorable to the Kremlin,
giving Washington and Kyiv the final say on sensitive territorial disputes and American security guarantees.
Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned that if the plan \’erased … key understandings\’ that Putin reached with Trump at the
Alaska summit in August, the \’situation will be fundamentally different\’.
The US leader posted on Truth Social this afternoon as anxious Washington insiders said that Putin will dismiss the new deal \’out of hand\’ over the major concessions to Ukraine.
Trump said: \’The original 28-point peace plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement.\’
He added that he had dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff, the architect of the Gaza peace deal, to meet with Putin in Moscow.
\’I look forward to hopefully meeting with president [Volodymyr] Zelensky and president Putin soon, but only when the deal to end this war is final,\’ Trump added.
Hopes that the bloody conflict might finally be brought to an end were buoyed by reports on Tuesday morning that the Ukrainian president had accepted the terms of the new deal. Skeptics have warned that Putin will refuse the new proposal.
The Russian delegation is likely to reject the revised peace plan agreed by US-Ukrainian officials on Tuesday; Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are seen meeting in August
President Zelensky is expected to meet with Trump administration officials in the US
Ukraine is being asked to give up the entire Donbas
The deal no longer includes amnesty guarantees for atrocities committed during the war. Kyiv has agreed to cap its army at 800,000 men.
That initial plan had permanently ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, limited its army to 600,000, proposed handing the rest of Donbas to Russia – albeit as a demilitarized zone – and mandated that Kyiv hold elections within 100 days.
All those clauses are reported to have since been amended or shelved for now.
Zelensky confirmed that talks with Washington were ongoing in a post on X, adding: \’I am grateful for all of America\’s efforts and personally for President Trump\’s efforts.\’
Trump\’s special envoy US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with the Russian delegation in the United Arab Emirates on Monday for secret talks. The meeting came after Driscoll\’s weekend talks with Ukraine in Geneva that were aimed at pushing the peace forward, according to a US official.
Trump, galvanized by his success in Gaza, ratcheted pressure on Zelensky last week to end the war, which has kill.ed 300,000 people since Putin launched his invasion in February 2022
.
America\’s European allies were reportedly left stunned that Trump had threatened to cut intelligence sharing and weapons supplies to press Zelensky into the deal.
The US put the peace plan to Kyiv at the end of last week and set a Thursday deadline for them to sign on the dotted line, sources claimed.
\’Over the past week, the United States has made tremendous progress towards a peace deal by bringing both Ukraine and Russia to the table,\’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
\’There are a few delicate, but not insurmountable, details that must be sorted out and will require further talks between Ukraine, Russia, and the United States.\’
Lieutenant Colonel Jeffrey Tolbert, a US Army spokesman, said: \’Late Monday and throughout Tuesday, Secretary Driscoll and team have been in discussions with the Russian delegation to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.
\’The talks are going well and we remain optimistic. Secretary Driscoll is closely synchronized with the White House and the US interagency as these talks progress.\’
Putin\’s foreign affairs aide Yuri Ushakov said that British, EU and Ukrainian-inspired changes to the original US draft submitted over the weekend were \’unconstructive\’.
On Saturday, leaders from Europe, Canada and Japan signed a joint statement at the G20 summit in South Africa, saying that the peace deal had elements \’essential for a just and lasting peace\’, but would \’require additional work\’, citing concerns over territory and limits on Ukraine\’s army.
The EU submitted a modified version of the US\’s peace plan for Ukraine that pushed back on proposed limits to Kyiv\’s armed forces and territorial concessions.
The document, drafted by the so-called European E3 powers – Britain, France and Germany – proposes the capping of Ukraine\’s military at 800,000 \’in peacetime\’ rather than a blanket cap of 600,000.
It also says \’negotiations on territorial swaps will start from the Line of Contact\’, rather than pre-determining that certain areas should be recognized as \’de facto Russian\’, as the US plan suggests.
It proposes that Ukraine receive a security guarantee from the United States similar to NATO\’s Article 5 clause.