# Ilhan Omar - A thread about her marriage and immigration history. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 20, 2019, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347 "2019-07-20T12:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/81 "2019-07-23T04:59:57Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Sure: > > Pro: > > - Somalia _is_ all coastline. Being in charge of it should be a fairly big deal. > > Con: > > - Lighthouses aren’t generally a big deal. > - “Director” is often not the highest level in an organization. That might be Minister, Secretary, or something like that. Though it is generally still quite high up. > > I’d suggest that it would be somewhere between 2-4 positions down from the top but it’s hard to say given the current state of information available on the Internet. Ah, okay; thanks. When was he Somalia’s National Maritime Transport director? And where did City Pages Magazine get that information? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/82 "2019-07-23T05:01:06Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Why are you so ready to believe something with such incredibly weak evidence, and no motive? A brown woman with a different religion has dared to occupy a position of authority and speak against the Great White Father, and this simply _will not do._ ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/83 "2019-07-23T05:09:28Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > A brown woman with a different religion has dared to occupy a position of authority and speak against the Great White Father, and this simply _will not do._ THIS. It’s so stunningly unimportant to anything at all, but he’s obsessed with turning it into something so he can justify his anger toward her and attempt to paint her as a **bad person** so that other people won’t like her either. If only he’d spend half as much time ‘investigating’ all of the sexual assault and rape claims against his Great White Father and King with an eye toward proving them true. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/84 "2019-07-23T05:27:21Z")
Dear Sage Rat, Shut the fuck up. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/85 "2019-07-23T05:30:16Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > How do we know it isn’t his sock? Who even cares? Sage Rat is just fucking insufferable with his long, convoluted, half-cocked, conspiracy theorist gibberish that could easily be mistaken for schizophrenia. I’ve not put a single poster on ignore but he and WillFarnaby are, like, right fucking there. At least some of the conservatrolls go away after a few droppings. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/86 "2019-07-23T05:40:34Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Who even cares? > > Sage Rat is just fucking insufferable with his long, convoluted, half-cocked, conspiracy theorist gibberish that could easily be mistaken for schizophrenia. I’ve not put a single poster on ignore but he and WillFarnaby are, like, right fucking there. At least some of the conservatrolls go away after a few droppings. I half expect him to start going off about how he has now proved beyond the shadow of a doubt, with geometric logic, that a duplicate key to the ward room icebox did exist, and he could have produced that key if they hadn’t pulled the Caine out of action. And then tomorrow, some dude we’ve never heard of will post for the very first time about the key to the ward room icebox, and link to a citation from the South Dakota Tribune and Fishwrap as proof. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/87 "2019-07-23T06:02:51Z")
Okay, for the sake of the hypothetical, I will take the OP at face value. Ilhan Omar lied, cheated and stole her way into the United States and then had the nerve to bring her brother along with her. Outrageous! Almost as outrageous as [Melania Trump’s family coming in](https://www.vox.com/2018/2/14/17012134/melania-trump-parents-visa) courtesy of chain migration. You know, I see a lot of conservatives talking about Mexicans stealing their jobs and whatnot as if it is the manifest destiny of white Americans to scrub toilets for a dollar an hour. But think about Melania’s family for a minute. Do you think these people are suffering in the US? Do you think they ever have to do anything at all that resembles actual work? Of course they don’t! They’re fucking rich and they will never want for anything. And where did that money come from? Spoiler alert: they didn’t goddamn well bring it with them. And no one will ever tell them to go back to where they came from. Does Ilhan Omar need to be prosecuted? There are bigger fish to fry. For example, one individual who has had [one thousand prosecutors](https://medium.com/@dojalumni/statement-by-former-federal-prosecutors-8ab7691c2aa1) saying that if he was any other individual on Earth, he’d be facing a multitude of charges. But who cares if _that_ individual lied, cheated and stole his way into office? We let Ilhan Omar get away with it so I guess he gets away with it too. And did you hear what Omar said about Israel? She said it was “all about the Benjamins”! Next thing you know she’ll be [advocating genocide](https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/22/politics/donald-trump-imran-khan-pakistan-prime-minister-white-house/index.html), saying something like the conflict would be easy to solve if only ten million people would die. Somebody who says something like that should definitely never hold a position of authority anywhere, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/88 "2019-07-23T06:10:05Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Ah, okay; thanks. > > When was he Somalia’s National Maritime Transport director? And where did City Pages Magazine get that information? I have no way of knowing (short of emailing the author) but, given that they’re giving quotes from her that are conversational, I would assume that they interviewed her and that she’s their source for the information. They have simply compressed down the conversation to be more readable. She’s 36. Assuming that her grandfather is 40ish years older than her and probably wouldn’t get into all that high of a position until he was past 40, that would have him start being eligible for the role around 1983 (?). Barre was ousted in 1991. The Isaaq Genocide was undertaken in the 1987 to 1989 period. Her grandfather might have been 44-46 years old during that period - which sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/89 "2019-07-23T06:26:34Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Why are you so ready to believe something with such incredibly weak evidence, and no motive? I don’t believe it, as said [in post 79](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21764975&postcount=79). As I have said, many times, my point is that it’s unwise for the Democratic party to put all of its eggs into one basket at this moment in time, not that there’s a correct basket. If you decide that I’m saying something other than that, when I clearly say that this is how to read my statements, then I can’t really help you. And if you don’t like the things I say, well, you wouldn’t like it if I pointed out that there’s a rumor that your friend Bob murdered his wife, either. Whether you like something or not is irrelevant to a discussion of the pros and cons of the evidence. Not liking doesn’t mean that the rumor might not be correct. If you feel like the evidence is false or is being interpreted in a way that is unfair, you are completely free to make that argument. I had it pointed out to me that a series of traffic ticket addresses, for Omar and company, were likely out of date. I checked and that was clearly true that they were out of date and not indicative of anything. A reasonable counterargument was made and I appreciate someone doing that. You are free to and encouraged to do likewise. You can either call me insane or you can contest the evidence, but only one of those is fighting ignorance. I recommend the latter if you’re certain of your position. It is impossible to prove a negative. But, likewise, it _is_ possible to prove a positive. If Omar was in a real marriage with Elmi and living with him, there should be records of the two of them living together - apartment lease agreements, bank accounts, etc. If you can demonstrate that there was a real marriage, that would go a fair way towards disproving the false marriage theory. If you care to defend her, then defend her. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/90 "2019-07-23T06:34:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > As I have said, many times, my point is that it’s unwise for the Democratic party to put all of its eggs into one basket at this moment in time, not that there’s a correct basket. Do you have a cite that the Democrats are “putting all their eggs” in a freshman Congresswoman from Minneapolis, or are you just concern trolling us at this point? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/91 "2019-07-23T06:42:50Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > A brown woman with a different religion has dared to occupy a position of authority and speak against the Great White Father, and this simply _will not do._ True — but I suspect that, deep in the night under the covers, Sage/Annoyed also thinks the idea of that pretty brown lady doing it with her own brother is _hawt_. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/92 "2019-07-23T06:50:22Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Do you have a cite that the Democrats are “putting all their eggs” in a freshman Congresswoman from Minneapolis, or are you just concern trolling us at this point? Possibly it’s past the point where it was a concern, now. The media seem to have moved on from the “Squad” story and while the light did seem to move towards Omar, I think it moved away before it would get to the point where I would worry for the party. So I would say that at the moment, I am answering the questions that are being asked, because people asked. If they ask me what my motives were, all I can do is answer what they were, regardless of how much time has passed since that point in time. In 40 years, my motive would still be to urge caution. Because we would still be discussing my thinking as of early July of 2019. And my motive for mentioning it forty years time would be simply because someone asked what my thoughts were in early July, 2019. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/93 "2019-07-23T07:01:53Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > True — but I suspect that, deep in the night under the covers, Sage/Annoyed also thinks the idea of that pretty brown lady doing it with her own brother is _hawt_. The current evidence would be that Elmi moved to the US, stayed with her and her husband for a short while, and then moved out on his own. I wouldn’t envision any case where they committed visa fraud, except to try and get the family back together if it was indeed separated in some way. To be sure, it’s a strange way to go about it, and that does make the theory questionable, but I wouldn’t expect any genuine incestuous angle should it prove to be true. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/94 "2019-07-23T07:22:06Z")
Got it - thanks. The other thing, then. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/95 "2019-07-23T08:44:59Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I don’t believe it, as said [in post 79](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21764975&postcount=79). > > As I have said, many times, my point is that it’s unwise for the Democratic party to put all of its eggs into one basket at this moment in time, not that there’s a correct basket. If you decide that I’m saying something other than that, when I clearly say that this is how to read my statements, then I can’t really help you. > > And if you don’t like the things I say, well, you wouldn’t like it if I pointed out that there’s a rumor that your friend Bob murdered his wife, either. Whether you like something or not is irrelevant to a discussion of the pros and cons of the evidence. Not liking doesn’t mean that the rumor might not be correct. > > If you feel like the evidence is false or is being interpreted in a way that is unfair, you are completely free to make that argument. I had it pointed out to me that a series of traffic ticket addresses, for Omar and company, were likely out of date. I checked and that was clearly true that they were out of date and not indicative of anything. A reasonable counterargument was made and I appreciate someone doing that. You are free to and encouraged to do likewise. You can either call me insane or you can contest the evidence, but only one of those is fighting ignorance. I recommend the latter if you’re certain of your position. > > It is impossible to prove a negative. But, likewise, it _is_ possible to prove a positive. If Omar was in a real marriage with Elmi and living with him, there should be records of the two of them living together - apartment lease agreements, bank accounts, etc. If you can demonstrate that there was a real marriage, that would go a fair way towards disproving the false marriage theory. > > If you care to defend her, then defend her. There’s no point in defending her. This is bullshit internet conspiracy talk, and giving it air feeds it no matter the evidence. That’s probably why she’s paying no attention to it. To pay attention to it is to feed it and spread it. And the party is not making her the “face of the party” or anything close to that. You’re being utterly ridiculous in this thread. Basically a birther “just asking questions”. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/96 "2019-07-23T09:14:06Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > One problem is that our conservative friends have made up SOOOOOOOOO much crazy shit that, even if they came up with something like this and it was TRUE no one would believe it. It’s “The boy who cried wolf”. They’ve got a whole 24-hour news network crying “wolf” these days. I think it’s called something like “WolfNews”. > [@Atamasama](#): > > I like to pretend they’re little arrows. If I can get a handful of them at dinner I’ll stab them all into my meat and pretend it was a wooly mammoth brought down by tribal hunters. Are…are we related somehow? Because clearly you are one of my people. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/97 "2019-07-23T11:19:32Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > there’s sufficient evidence that _something_ funny was going on I think there’s sufficient evidence that you’re too fucking stupid to know what evidence is. Here is how evidence works. When you have evidence, you don’t need to make up a fucking story to explain what happened, because the evidence tells you what happened. Do you have evidence that Elmi is her brother? Or do you have stupid shit like he called her nieces and nephews his “nieces and nephews?” My wife does that with my extended family, and I’m pretty sure she isn’t my sister. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/98 "2019-07-23T11:24:16Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What is the reason for the obsession with this one member of Congress, not just on the part of the OP but also Fox News and others? I’m sure there’s hijab porn out there, but I don’t have the heart to look. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/99 "2019-07-23T11:27:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > What is the reason for the obsession with this one member of Congress, not just on the part of the OP but also Fox News and others? Trumpism is a white nationalist movement and she’s an elected person of color. They need to keep their rapid base angry and mobilized for the election. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2019, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347/100 "2019-07-23T12:55:46Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I don’t believe it, as said [in post 79](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21764975&postcount=79). Bullshit. You believe it with the fanaticism of the classic convert. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > There’s no point in defending her. This is bullshit internet conspiracy talk, and giving it air feeds it no matter the evidence. That’s probably why she’s paying no attention to it. To pay attention to it is to feed it and spread it. > > And the party is not making her the “face of the party” or anything close to that. > > You’re being utterly ridiculous in this thread. Basically a birther “just asking questions”. What about it. 'Rat? What’s your take on the Birther “controversary”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ilhan-omar-a-thread-about-her-marriage-and-immigration-history/837347.md?page=6)