“Nur Said was a military officer who was loyal to the regime until the end,” Ingiriis told the newspaper.
“He was part and parcel of those who caused and created the mayhem they ‘fled’ to live comfortably in the United States.”
Federal Search Brings Omar’s Immigration History Back Into Focus
The claims surfaced following a federal search of Omar’s Washington, D.C., residence on October 12, 2026. Authorities executed a court-authorized search warrant as part of an ongoing criminal investigation involving allegations connected to her immigration paperwork.
According to reporting by the Associated Press and New York Post, investigators are examining questions surrounding Omar’s birthdate and the documentation used during her family’s immigration and naturalization process.
Omar arrived in the United States from Somalia as a child in 1995 and became a U.S. citizen in 2000. The investigation reportedly concerns whether information provided during the immigration process accurately reflected her age at the time.
For years, public sources commonly listed Omar’s birth year as 1981. In subsequent years, she said she was born in 1982. The distinction has attracted attention because her age at the time of naturalization could be relevant to the legal questions investigators are examining.
Omar has previously said that records documenting her early life were destroyed after she left Somalia during the country’s civil war.
Nevertheless, a search warrant does not establish that a crime occurred. Investigators would need evidence supporting any allegations before prosecutors could establish a legal case.
Historian Challenges the Public Account of Omar’s Father
Omar has described her father as an educator who escaped Somalia amid the violence and ultimately settled in the United States.
Ingiriis disputes that account, alleging that Mohamed was a full colonel in Barre’s military government and remained associated with the regime until its collapse.
“He was a full colonel in Siad Barre’s military regime,” Ingiriis told the New York Post.
The historian also alleged that Mohamed received military training in either the former Soviet Union or Egypt. He cited accounts suggesting that Mohamed played a significant role in Somalia’s conflict with neighboring Ethiopia.
A former fellow officer, Yusuf Ismail Faraton, reportedly described Mohamed’s involvement in the military in comments to a Minnesota news outlet in 2020.
Somalia’s dictatorship collapsed in 1991, after years of repression and armed conflict. According to Ingiriis, Mohamed left the country only after the regime lost power, subsequently escaping to Kenya before traveling to the United States with his family.
“He only fled when the dictatorship fell in 1991,” Ingiriis told the newspaper. “He was the beneficiary of the military regime and should not have been given asylum whatsoever.”
Those statements represent the historian’s assessment. Establishing whether Mohamed participated in abuses, misrepresented his background to U.S. authorities, or was legally ineligible for refugee status would require additional evidence.
U.S. Immigration Law Could Become Part of the Debate
The allegations have also drawn attention to provisions of U.S. immigration law that restrict refugee eligibility for individuals who participated in certain forms of persecution.
The relevant statute excludes individuals who ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in persecution based on protected characteristics such as race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.
Ingiriis argued that Mohamed’s alleged military position should have prevented him from receiving asylum.
“He was protecting his career and his colonel position,” the historian said of Mohamed’s alleged loyalty to Barre’s government.
He also offered a broader criticism of the United States accepting individuals he believes were associated with abuses committed by the dictatorship.
“I think it is very wrong for the United States to host war criminals,” Ingiriis said.
“This creates a constant resentment and sadness among the real victims who were terrorized by the military regime under which Nur Said loyally served.”
Whether these allegations could have any bearing on the current investigation into Omar is a separate legal question. Her father died in 2020, and claims about his past do not automatically establish that Omar knew of, participated in, or benefited from any alleged misrepresentation.
Omar Accuses Trump of Political Intimidation
Omar has strongly criticized the federal search, arguing that it is part of a longstanding effort by President Donald Trump to target her politically.
Following the operation, the Minnesota Democrat portrayed the investigation as an abuse of federal authority rather than a legitimate effort to enforce immigration law.
“For ten years, Trump has targeted me with baseless lies and smear campaigns. This is just the latest escalation in his campaign of political intimidation,” she said.
“I will not be silenced.”
Omar also characterized the investigation as an attempt to use federal law enforcement against political opponents. Her office has maintained that she has done nothing wrong.
Trump, meanwhile, denied directing the search when questioned by reporters, while making clear his negative opinion of the congresswoman.
“I’ve always found her to be totally crooked, personally, but [the raid] has nothing to do with me.”
“I think she’s a terrible person, just a complainer,” he added. “She comes from a country that is a non-country, and then she comes over here, and she complains about our Constitution. I think she’s a terrible person, but that’s really up to the DOJ. I have nothing to do with it.”
The president’s remarks underscore the political tensions surrounding the case, while Omar’s accusations have raised questions about the independence of federal investigations involving prominent political opponents.
Investigation Leaves Important Questions Unanswered
The competing accounts have placed Omar’s family history under renewed scrutiny at a politically sensitive moment, with the 2026 midterm elections approaching.
For critics of the congresswoman, the historian’s allegations provide another reason to examine the circumstances surrounding her family’s arrival in America. For Omar and her supporters, the investigation has become a test of whether federal law enforcement is being applied impartially.
But several critical questions remain unresolved: What evidence do investigators have concerning the original immigration documents? Did any paperwork contain material misrepresentations? And is there evidence connecting Omar herself to any alleged misconduct?
Until those questions are answered through credible evidence and appropriate legal proceedings, allegations about her father’s military past should not be treated as proof of criminal wrongdoing by the congresswoman.
The investigation is ongoing, and its eventual findings will determine whether the allegations develop into a prosecutable case or remain unresolved claims in an increasingly contentious political dispute.
