Staffers for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) requested a correction to her birth year on official records shortly after she began her first term in the U.S. House, according to a report by The New York Post. The request, made in May 2019, sought to change her birth year from 1981 to 1982. This alteration is now central to a federal investigation into the congresswoman’s immigration history and the timeline of her U.S. citizenship acquisition.
The discrepancy matters because Omar has stated that she became a U.S. citizen as a minor, specifically at age 17, when her father naturalized in 2000. Under the law then in effect, deriving citizenship through a parent generally required the child to be under 18 and an unmarried permanent resident. If Omar was born in 1981, she would have been 18 or 19 in 2000, potentially requiring her to undergo the naturalization process as an adult. The New York Post reported that the original 1981 listing had been maintained by the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library and cited by outlets including the BBC during her time in the Minnesota House and her initial congressional campaign.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative commentators and investigators are focusing on the timing of the record change and the lack of documentation for Omar’s father’s naturalization. The New York Post reported that a search for records of Omar’s father’s naturalization, requested by her 2022 primary opponent AJ Kern, failed to locate proof that he had been naturalized. The right argues that if Omar was 18 or 19 in 2000, she did not automatically derive citizenship and should have completed the adult naturalization process. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro stated on Fox News that federal agents raided Omar’s home to search for records related to immigration documents completed by her late father and that her financial disclosures were also under review.
What the Left Is Saying
Representative Omar has accused President Donald Trump of "weaponizing" federal law enforcement against her. In response to the investigation, Omar has maintained her account that she obtained citizenship through her father's naturalization when she was a minor. Her supporters argue that the birthdate correction was a clerical adjustment to align official records with her actual age, noting that the initial 1981 listing was based on previously published reports that library staff had no reason to doubt at the time. Emails reviewed by The Post indicate Omar’s congressional staff were coordinating with Wikipedia and the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress to correct the date across multiple platforms.
What the Numbers Show
The controversy centers on two specific dates: 1981 and 1982. The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library listed Omar’s birth year as 1981 until mid-May 2019. According to an email from the library director dated May 24, 2019, staff were informed by Omar’s congressional staff on May 17, 2019, that the birth year was incorrect and requested a change to 1982. Omar has cited 2000 as the year her father became a citizen. If born in 1981, she would have been 18 or 19 in 2000; if born in 1982, she would have been 17. The eligibility to derive citizenship through a parent under the law applicable at the time generally required the applicant to be under 18 years of age.
The Bottom Line
The alteration of Rep. Omar’s birth year record in 2019 has become a focal point of a federal investigation into her immigration status. The key issue is whether the change from 1981 to 1982 was a necessary correction to reflect her true age for citizenship derivation purposes or if it obscures the fact that she may have been an adult when her father naturalized. With the record search for her father’s naturalization having failed to produce documents, and federal agents having raided her home, the investigation continues to examine the validity of her citizenship claim and associated financial disclosures.