Let’s talk about Ilhan Omar’s father, Colonel Nur Omar Mohamed, for a moment. Mohamed served as a senior officer in brutal dictator Siad Barre’s “scientific socialism” regime, established following a coup in 1969. As a senior officer, Mohamed was involved in orchestrating many of the war crimes and atrocities ordered by Barre. The most notable of these was the Isaaq Genocide from 1987–1989. An estimated 200,000 civilians were killed and 500,000 displaced. Over 90% of the city of Hargeisa was leveled in indiscriminate aerial bombings. Land mines were widely planted. Mass executions were carried out. As of 2026, mass graves are still being found in Northern Somalia. Thousands of women were raped, children were forced to watch their parents’ execution and were then abducted to serve as child soldiers, and prisoners of war were tortured. Under both international law and U.S. law (the Immigration and Nationality Act): “An applicant who ‘ordered, incited, assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion’ is ineligible for asylum.” Mohamed lied about his participation and never mentioned that he was wanted for war crimes in Somalia when he applied for asylum in the United States in 1991 after the collapse of the Barre regime. Barre fled to Nigeria and died there before facing justice.