Homeland Security Secretary Mullin says “we know that she married her brother” and that an investigation is ongoing
Markwayne MullinSecretary of Homeland Security, interviewed by podcaster Benny Johnson on the floor of the Republican National Convention
In an interview with podcaster Benny Johnson on the floor of the Republican National Convention, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, asked about Rep. Ilhan Omar, said “something’s going to happen” and that “this is an ongoing investigation.” He said “we know that she married her brother to try to bring him in the United States” and that “there may be more to this.” Using the second person (“you”) rather than naming Omar, he then said that if someone lied on their application and the government can prove it, that person “shouldn’t have been here in the first place” and “We’ll deport you.” He said any case the administration brings is “not political.” Mullin’s description of Omar’s marriage is his own claim.
“Something’s going to happen. And this is an ongoing investigation. We know that she married her brother to try to bring him in the United States. We know he lives now in London.” … “there may be more to this, the whole family migration and possibly some illegal activity for them to come to the United States to begin with.” … “If you decided to break the law or lie on the information you gave the United States … you lied about certain things about your application, those things, there’s no expiration to that. If we can prove it, then you shouldn’t have been here in the first place. We’ll deport you.”
Original video
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Should Trump administration officials publicly accuse Rep. Ilhan Omar of immigration fraud?
Since at least 2016 there have been unproven claims that Rep. Ilhan Omar’s 2009 husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, is her brother. Senior Trump administration officials have repeated the claim publicly. This record begins with Vice President JD Vance’s March 27, 2026 statement that “we actually think that Ilhan Omar definitely committed immigration fraud,” and includes President Donald Trump’s May 1 statement, “I believe she married her brother.” On September 10, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a podcast interview, “we know that she married her brother to try to bring him in the United States,” and that an investigation was ongoing. On September 13, border czar Tom Homan declined to give specifics of an “ongoing criminal investigation” but said “no one’s above the law.” Omar has denied the claim: on September 16 she told a reporter “Absolutely not” and that she is not under investigation, and on September 18 Fox News Digital reported her saying DHS had not contacted her. Fox reported that there has been no public evidence available to confirm an open investigation into her.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
The Benny Johnson Show’s own upload of its interview with Secretary Mullin, recorded on the floor of the Republican National Convention on Thursday, September 10, 2026 and posted on September 11. Mullin’s answer about Rep. Ilhan Omar begins after Johnson says there have been “breadcrumb trails” about action on Omar. News outlets print small variants of Mullin’s words, such as “to” or “into” for “in the United States” and “he now lives in London”; the quotation in this record follows the audio. The upload’s YouTube headline says Mullin “confirms” the claim; that is the show’s characterization, and this record quotes what Mullin said.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Fox News Digital’s report of Omar’s remarks, bylined Hannah Brennan; the accompanying video is credited to Nicholas Ballasy. It quotes Omar saying DHS has not reached out to her, notes that Omar has repeatedly denied the marriage claim and any claim that DHS or the Justice Department opened an investigation, and says there has been no public evidence available to confirm an open investigation. It also reports that Vice President JD Vance claimed in May that the Justice Department was looking into allegations against Omar.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Johnson said there had been “a lot of breadcrumb trails from the administration” about action on Omar, that Vice President JD Vance had told his show the administration believes Omar committed immigration fraud, and that Tom Homan had told him at a Turning Point event to “get ready” and that “something’s about to happen.” He asked what was going to happen. Johnson’s account paraphrases those remarks; the recorded words of Vance and Homan are in this case.
After the quotation
Mullin went on to say that when the administration moves forward it is “not political,” that “it’s because you chose to break the nation’s laws,” that “it’s more than just her case,” and that officials are looking at “a lot of cases that are very similar to this.” Fox News Digital reported on September 18 that Omar has repeatedly denied the marriage claim and any claim that an investigation of her has been opened, and that “there has been no public evidence available to confirm an open investigation into Omar.”
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Mullin makes the accusation himself and presents it as known (“we know that she married her brother”), says an investigation is ongoing, and adds, in the second person and without naming Omar, that people who lied on their applications can be deported if that is proved. That defends the accusation and its pursuit rather than merely reporting it. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”, because he says he would act only if a claim can be proved and that any case would not be political; it loses because those qualifications concern how a case would proceed, while the underlying claim about Omar is stated as fact without condition.
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The Dispute Index. "Homeland Security Secretary Mullin says “we know that she married her brother” and that an investigation is ongoing". First published: 2026-09-20. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/1246-in-an-interview-with-podcaster-benny-johnson-on