Former Immigration Judge Says Ilhan Omar Could Face Both Criminal Charges and Denaturalization, but Says Stripping Citizenship Is a Separate Civil Case and a Judgment Call for Justice
Nathan Hansen, a lawyer who served four months as an immigration judge, says a conviction does not automatically mean denaturalization and that he does not buy the statute-of-limitations argument. He also describes a Minnesota court backlog.
A legal explainer on where the federal probes of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., could lead, from Fox News.
The probes. Fox says there are two federal investigations: one into alleged immigration fraud tied to how she or her late father filled out her citizenship paperwork, and one into her financial disclosures and a sharp discrepancy reported a year apart. Homeland Security Investigations raided her Washington home early on Oct. 12 and reportedly seized her phone, passport and computer. Fox later confirmed authorities have her DNA. Sources familiar with the case say her "real name" is Ilhan Nur Said Elmi.
Two separate tracks. Nathan Hansen, a lawyer of 23 years who was appointed an immigration judge by former Attorney General Pam Bondi and served four months, told Fox that a conviction "doesn't automatically mean that they face denaturalization." Stripping citizenship, he said, is a separate civil proceeding brought by the Justice Department, likely on behalf of Homeland Security. If a crime is tied to the citizenship filing, he said, a denaturalization case "might be more likely," but it would be "a discretionary matter" for those running the Justice Department.
The time limit. Some observers have said statutes of limitations could block a prosecution. Hansen said he does not believe so. "Fraud stops any statute of limitations," he said, because it would be unfair to let a hidden fact run out the clock.
The backlog. Hansen said Minnesota alone has 20,000 to 30,000 removal cases pending with no court date. He called it "an overwhelming of the system." He said that on the bench he saw asylum claims that "just totally didn't add up," forged documents, and claims that rested on being insulted in the applicant's home country.
Note for readers: Hansen is giving general legal views and is not on the case. No charges against Omar have been announced, and our earlier coverage notes she has denied wrongdoing. The "real name" detail comes from unnamed sources in Fox's reporting.