President Donald Trump recently drew attention to a Just the News report by posting a link to it on Truth Social. The article details how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) declined to release records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, citing ongoing “enforcement proceedings.”
Just the News had filed the FOIA request in January seeking any ICE investigative records related to longstanding allegations that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, married a relative to help him remain in the United States.
In its May response, ICE stated that the requested information was being withheld in full under Title 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7)(A). The agency explained that disclosure “could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings.” This exemption covers records compiled for law enforcement purposes when their release might disrupt such proceedings. According to the outlet, the exemption applies when there is a “reasonable likelihood” of a pending or contemplated law enforcement action and when release of the information would be “reasonably expected to cause some articulable harm to that proceeding.”
Omar did not respond to Just the News’ request for comment.
Allegations that Omar married her brother for immigration purposes have circulated since 2016. The claims center on her 2009 marriage to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, which critics say was intended to help him obtain U.S. citizenship. In 2020, the Daily Mail reported comments from Abdihakim Osman, a leader in Minneapolis’s Somali community, who asserted that Elmi was Omar’s brother. No definitive public evidence has confirmed the claims.
Trump’s decision to highlight the ICE response drew widespread positive reaction from conservatives on X.
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