The U.S. Justice Department is looking to revoke the citizenship of four Somali-Minnesotans who allegedly used false identities on their visa applications.
In 2001, Fosia Abdi Adan immigrated from Somalia under the now-controversial diversity lottery visa program. President Donald Trump has called for the elimination of the program following the Oct. 31 terrorist attack in New York City carried out by a man who came to the U.S. from Uzbekistan under the program in 2010.
According to four civil complaints filed in the District of Minnesota, Adan allegedly used her visa to obtain beneficiary visas for three other men who used fictitious names and falsely posed as her family members. Upon entering the U.S., Adan, 51, of Eden Prairie, claimed she was married to Ahmed Mohamed Warsame, 54, of St. Cloud. Together the two claimed to have two children, Mustaf Abdi Adan, 33, and Faysal Jama Mire, 31, both of Minneapolis.
“The current immigration system is easily abused by fraudsters and nefarious actors, and that’s certainly true of the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said a press release. “If the fraud is not detected and swift enforcement actions are not taken, chain migration only multiplies the consequences of this abuse.”
A description of each of the four cases can be found here.
The fraudulent marriage of Adan and Warsame is similar to the controversy surrounding Minnesota State Rep. Ilhan Omar’s alleged marriage to her brother. Last year, Alpha News investigated Omar’s personal history after Powerline Blog writer Scott Johnson indicated Omar may have engaged in marriage fraud.
Omar has publicly identified Ahmed Hirsi as her cultural husband and father of her children. However, Omar is currently married to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi. Elmi’s name follows the Somali custom of being named after his father, which is the same name as her father. Extensive investigation from Alpha News unveils the potential that Elmi is actually Omar’s brother and the marriage was a sham in order to aid Elmi in obtaining citizenship.
Alpha News first began investigating the issue in 2016. Omar dismissed the claims that she married her brother and that the marriages were simply a difficult time in her private life. In August 2016 Omar released a statement saying, “I have yet to legally divorce Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, but am in the process of doing so.” Omar filed for divorce from Elmi in May.
Former U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger previously denied investigating the potential immigration fraud. Research indicates Elmi attended college at North Dakota State University in 2009 shortly after his marriage to Omar. He now resides in London so his immigration status is a fairly moot point.
In the case of the four charged Somali-Minnesotans, citizenship may be revoked, and their certificate of naturalization canceled.
