by Sharon Rondeau
(Apr. 24, 2026) — On Tuesday evening EDT/Wednesday morning Melbourne, Australia time, this writer was a guest on “The Cheryl Lacey Show” to discuss the impact of unvetted immigrants on America’s national security as exemplified in several recent cases of crimes committed by naturalized citizens, U.S. citizens by birth or “green card” holders.
Titled, “THE INSIDE JOB: Faces of the Anti-American Movement,” the conversation encompassed legal permanent resident (green card recipient) Shamim Mafi, arrested April 19 at Los Angeles International Airport, for allegedly selling drones, bombs, munitions and bomb fuses to Sudan which were manufactured in Iran, with whom the U.S. is currently engaged in military conflict in a battle to end the rogue nation’s nuclear ambitions.
According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), there exist eight possible pathways to obtaining a green card, including “as a Special Immigrant.”
It is unknown by which category Mafi was granted entry to the country in 2016.
U.S.-Born Citizens Radicalized
Also discussed was the case of two young men, one a high-school senior, who last month threw improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at a group of protesters in front of Gracie Mansion, the official home of current New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Although U.S. citizens, the suspects were investigated for allegedly committing “an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism” after indicating allegiance to the terror group.
Naturalized Citizen Opens Fire on Fellow Citizens
On March 1, a 53-year-old naturalized man originally from Senegal killed three young people and wounded 14 others at a bar in Austin, TX while wearing a shirt with “Property of Allah” on the front. The perpetrator was killed by Austin police.
According to law-enforcement sources, evidence of interest in the then-Iranian regime was found in Ndiaga Diagne’s home and a copy of the Quran in his vehicle.
The main question which arose in our conversation with Lacey was by what standards allegiance is measured and U.S. citizenship or legal status awarded to immigrants.
On June 11, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division led by Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate announced that “denaturalization” would be one of five top administration priorities in cases wherein fraud was employed to secure U.S. citizenship.
Despite that emphasis, this writer has been unable to find any instance to date in which it has been implemented.
Ilhan Omar: U.S. Citizen or Not?
Touched upon during the interview is perhaps the inverse of U.S. citizenship fraud and abuse possibly engaged in by U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN5). The Somalia-born, third-term congresswoman, formerly a Minnesota state representative, has provided no public evidence she ever became a U.S. citizen, nor has Congress formally requested it.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are constitutionally required to be U.S. citizens for at least seven years prior to serving; for U.S. senators, the requirement is nine years.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN2) has appeared on several recent news programs to explain that Omar’s claim of her father’s naturalization in 2000, when she was 17 and therefore potentially eligible for derivative citizenship, might be false.
In 2023, former DFL challenger AJ Kern made that finding after receiving responses to FOIA requests from USCIS and DHS stating no record of Omar’s father’s naturalization could be located.
Late last month Vice President JD Vance alleged Omar “definitely committed immigration fraud,” though he did not expound on the method.
It is also credibly alleged Omar married her blood brother from the UK to facilitate his ability to stay in the U.S. and attend North Dakota State University on federally-funded student aid.
According to the government of Somaliland, which is striving to achieve recognition of its independence from Somalia, the now-congresswoman and her relatives falsely provided the last name “Omar” to U.S. authorities when applying for admission “to conceal the father’s true war crimes and identity” as a colonel in the army of Somalian dictator Siad Barre.