Washington, D.C., Thursday, April 9th, 2026 – Public interest advocate Larry Klayman, Chairman of Freedom Watch, has filed a Petition for Writ of Mandamus in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking a court order compelling the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to perform statutory duties it has refused to carry out.
The underlying petition, submitted February 22, 2019 to DHS, alleged that Rep. Ilhan Omar obtained immigration benefits and U.S. citizenship through marriage fraud, false statements relating to refugee status, document fraud, fraudulent naturalization, and concealment or misrepresentation of material facts, thereby triggering mandatory investigative and adjudicative duties under federal immigration law.
The marriage fraud allegation centers on claims that Omar married her biological brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, in 2009, allegedly to secure his U.S. immigration status — a scheme that, if proven, would render her naturalization fraudulently obtained.
Once confirmed through investigation, Omar would not only be subject to denaturalization and removal proceedings, but would have been legally ineligible to hold federal office at the time of her election — raising fundamental questions about the constitutional legitimacy of her congressional service.
Omar’s own voting record raises serious questions about her loyalties: she was among a small minority of House members who voted against a 2026 resolution reaffirming Iran as the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism. This lends particular urgency to the unresolved questions surrounding her immigration and citizenship status.
Even Congress has failed to act. In January 2026, Rep. Nancy Mace moved to subpoena Omar’s immigration records before the House Oversight Committee — only to have the motion killed by members of both parties. ‘Both sides protect the other,’ Mace said afterward. It is against this backdrop of institutional failure that Klayman has turned to the federal courts as the last avenue for accountability.
In December 2025, Border Czar Tom Homan publicly confirmed that DHS is actively investigating Omar for immigration fraud — and that an HSI investigator concluded there is ‘no doubt’ she committed it. Yet despite this confirmation from within the very agency this lawsuit seeks to compel — and nearly seven years after the original petition was filed — DHS has issued no formal findings, taken no adjudicative action, and provided no public accounting of its status.
The lawsuit asks the court to require DHS to investigate and adjudicate the sworn petition — and, if the alleged fraud is substantiated, to commence removal and denaturalization proceedings consistent with federal law. Federal regulations require DHS to investigate signed complaints that demonstrate a ‘substantial probability of validity,’ yet the agency has failed to open an investigation, obtain records, interview witnesses, or issue any formal disposition.
“This case is not about politics, prosecution, or predetermining guilt,” said Klayman. “It is about enforcing the rule of law. When Congress and federal regulations require an agency to investigate sworn allegations, DHS does not have the discretion to ignore them.”
The lawsuit relies on 28 U.S.C. § 1361, the federal mandamus statute, and the Administrative Procedure Act, which authorizes courts to compel agency action that has been unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed. The filing emphasizes that the court is not being asked to order removal, denaturalization, or criminal prosecution, but only to compel DHS to carry out the investigative and adjudicative processes required by statute and regulation.
The petition further asserts that DHS has a mandatory obligation under 8 C.F.R. § 270.2(b) to investigate facially valid complaints and under 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a) to review evidence indicating that citizenship may have been obtained through concealment or misrepresentation.
“No one is above the law, and no federal agency is free to disregard statutory commands,” Klayman said. “This lawsuit seeks accountability, transparency, and compliance with the law.”
The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and is styled Klayman v. Department of Homeland Security, No. 1:26-cv-01195-CRC (D.D.C.).
A copy of the petition is embedded below.
For more information contact Freedom Watch USA at contact@freedomwatchusa.org
