Rep. Ilhan Omar's father dies due to coronavirus

My family and I ask for your respect and privacy during this time." Omar and her father Nur Mohamed came to the United States as refugees in 1995 from Somalia during the country's civil war and eventually settled in Minneapolis, according to Politico.

Father of Somalia-born U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar died on Monday night of complications from the novel coronavirus.

"It is with tremendous sadness and pain that I share that my father, Nur Omar Mohamed, passed away today due to complications from COVID-19," the Minnesota congresswoman said in a statement on Monday. "No words can describe what he meant to me and all who knew him. My family and I ask for your respect and privacy during this time."

Omar and her father Nur Mohamed came to the United States as refugees in 1995 from Somalia during the country's civil war and eventually settled in Minneapolis, according to Politico. Omar was elected along with Michigan Representative Rashida Tlaiin in November 2018 making them among the first two Muslim women to serve in the U.S. Congress.