Archived Minnesota records show a 1981 birth year was later changed to 1982, which state records now describe as the correct year.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Congressional staff for Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar asked Minnesota legislative officials in 2019 to correct her listed birth year from 1981 to 1982, according to state records and reporting based on correspondence reviewed by a Minnesota news outlet.
The change came several months after Omar entered Congress in January 2019 and has drawn new scrutiny amid a federal criminal investigation involving questions about her family’s immigration paperwork. The records establish that Omar’s staff sought the correction, but they do not by themselves establish that Omar misstated her age, committed immigration fraud or was born in 1981. Omar has repeatedly denied allegations of immigration fraud and has described investigations and accusations targeting her as politically motivated.
An archived version of the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library’s biography of Omar, captured March 30, 2019, listed her date of birth as Oct. 4, 1981. The current version of the same state legislative record lists Oct. 4, 1982. It also contains a note saying her birth year is correct and that 1981 had been incorrectly reported elsewhere. The note says that as of May 24, 2019, Omar’s congressional staff were working with Wikipedia and the U.S. House to correct her birth year in those sources.
Alpha News reported that it reviewed emails showing Omar’s congressional staff contacted the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library on May 17, 2019, and asked for the birth-year correction. The outlet reported that the request came shortly after questions about Omar’s age were raised publicly by AJ Kern, a former congressional candidate who has spent years challenging Omar’s account of her immigration and citizenship history. Kern has argued that the difference between a 1981 and 1982 birth year could affect Omar’s stated age when she became a U.S. citizen.
The available records confirm that a public biography was changed, but they do not independently establish which birth year is supported by original birth documentation. The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library’s current entry says 1982 is correct, while its archived 2019 page had listed 1981. The current Congressional Directory also identifies Omar as having been born in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Oct. 4, 1982. Omar has long been publicly identified in congressional and biographical records with the 1982 birth year.
The disagreement has taken on added importance because Omar has said she became a U.S. citizen in 2000 through her father while she was still under 18. Critics have questioned whether her age at that time was consistent with her account of obtaining citizenship through a parent. Those questions remain allegations, and the public records showing the change in her listed birth year do not establish that her citizenship was improperly obtained. No publicly disclosed court finding has determined that Omar falsified her birth date or immigration status.
The issue resurfaced after Homeland Security Investigations agents searched Omar’s Washington-area home on Oct. 12 as part of an ongoing federal criminal investigation. The Justice Department confirmed that agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant but did not publicly describe the evidence underlying the warrant or specify criminal charges. The Associated Press reported that the precise scope of the investigation remained unclear, though administration officials had previously referred to an inquiry involving possible fraud in Omar’s family immigration paperwork.
Omar responded to the search by accusing the Trump administration of using federal law enforcement against a political opponent. She said President Donald Trump had targeted her for years with what she called baseless accusations and political intimidation. Trump said he had nothing to do with the search and said decisions about the investigation were up to the Justice Department. Omar, who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, was first elected to Congress in November 2018 and took office in January 2019.
The timing of the federal search, weeks before the 2026 midterm election, has also prompted criticism from congressional Democrats, who questioned whether the investigative action so close to an election departed from longstanding Justice Department practices intended to limit overt steps that could affect political campaigns. Federal officials have said only that the search was authorized by a judge and was connected to an ongoing criminal investigation.
For now, the documented record shows that Minnesota’s legislative biography listed Omar’s birth year as 1981 in early 2019 and that her congressional staff later requested it be changed to 1982. The current Minnesota record and Congressional Directory list 1982. Whether the earlier entry was simply an error or has broader significance to the federal investigation has not been established publicly.
Author note: Last updated October 14, 2026.