Sunny Naqvi, a 28-year-old American citizen, has returned home after being held by the Department of Homeland Security for nearly 43 hours.
Naqvi’s ordeal included time at a facility in Broadview, Illinois, before being transferred to another facility in Dodge County, Wisconsin. Her family, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, drove to Wisconsin to bring her home early on a Saturday morning, expressing both shock and concern over the situation.
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch
Born in Evanston and having grown up in the suburbs, Naqvi was preparing to embark on a work-related trip abroad a few weeks ago with five others. The group comprised three American citizens and three legal residents with green cards.
Although the trip was ultimately canceled at the last minute due to unforeseen circumstances, the group continued their travels. Upon their return to Chicago on Friday, Naqvi was unexpectedly detained by DHS agents, reportedly due to what her attorney described as an “unusual travel history.”
According to her family, Naqvi was initially held for 30 hours at Chicago O’Hare International Airport before being moved to facilities in Broadview and then Wisconsin. During this time, her family lost track of her location, which was previously being shared via her phone. Despite this, federal agents insisted she was not in custody, even though her last known location was at the Broadview facility.
“They requested Sunny’s phone number to search for her device at the facility. About ten minutes later, her phone was accessed, text messages were read, and then it was turned off, causing us to lose her location,” explained Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison.
ABC7 saw a pretty large crowd join some elected officials on Sunday in front of the facility, saying this was an unlawful detainment.
“It was just really scary to me, and I think it’s really scary to know that this can happen to someone born here,” said Sarah Afzal, Naqvi’s sister.
The family says Naqvi hitch hiked a ride from a random woman driving nearby after she was released from the facility in Dodge County, where family then picked her up at a hotel in Wisconsin.
Naqvi is back at home now. She was too shaken to speak with ABC7 on Sunday. ABC7 is still waiting to hear on the status of the five others that were detained with her. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Copyright © 2026 WLS-TV. All Rights Reserved.
