In a surprising twist, an Illinois woman who alleged she was held by ICE for almost two days was, in fact, enjoying a hotel stay complete with spa treatments, according to a defamation lawsuit seeking $1 million, filed by a county sheriff.
Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, a 28-year-old US citizen, made headlines last month with claims of being unlawfully detained by ICE officers for approximately 43 hours. Her story was supported by Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison and others who rallied to her cause.
Naqvi recounted that after returning to the US from a business trip to Turkey on the morning of March 5, she was allegedly held for nearly 30 hours at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. She claimed to have been transferred to an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, before ending up in Dodge County Jail, Wisconsin.
Commissioner Morrison, proclaiming Naqvi as his “best friend’s sister,” shared dubious evidence on Facebook, including screenshots that purportedly showed Naqvi’s location at the Juneau, Wisconsin jail. He condemned the supposed detention during a tense press conference on March 8, standing alongside Naqvi’s sister.
Expressing outrage, Morrison declared, “This is a 28-year-old woman who was just left on the street by ICE in another state, without her belongings.” He further claimed that Naqvi was released early on March 7 and had to hitchhike nine miles to a hotel, where she was eventually reunited with her family.
He claimed Naqvi was released from custody in the early hours of March 7, then hitchhiked nine miles to a hotel, where she was met by family.
The Department of Homeland Security called the claims “blatantly false” – and even posted surveillance footage from the airport showing Naqvi entering a secondary inspection zone that morning and leaving around an hour later.
“Ms. Naqvi departed CBP within 90 minutes of her arrival to the United States…[she] was not taken into custody or transferred to ICE for detention,” DHS wrote in a March 10 X statement.
The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office also said it had no record of Naqvi ever “being booked, detained, or released” at the local jail.
But Morrison, who is running for a seat in Congress, doubled down – even accusing the officials of “lying” and “trying to create a cover-up,” according to the Wisconsin outlet WISN 12 News.
Now Naqvi and Morrison are the subjects of a federal defamation lawsuit filed by Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt on Friday – as his office released new details of Naqvi’s actual actions during the alleged hoax period.
“She checked into the Hampton Inn and Suites in Rosemont, Ill., for the entire duration of this alleged event,” Schmidt said during a press conference, where he presented a hotel bill and text receipts to illustrate Naqvi’s time there.
The folio shows Naqvi checked in at the Hampton Inn – just a 10-minute drive from the airport – at 1:17 p.m. March 5, while text messages with an unidentified witness over the following days show she enjoyed free food, spa services and trips to the gym.
“May I use ur card to order some food” and “going to check out the gym in like 5,” read texts from Naqvi to the witness, according to authorities.
“May i use your card to pay my spa lady?” another says in screenshots released by the sheriff’s office.
The witness told cops he also drove Naqvi to a nearby gas station in the early hours of March 7.
Surveillance footage taken from that outing revealed Naqvi brazenly wearing the same clothes that she’s later seen sporting in a “reunited” picture uploaded to Facebook just hours later, according to the sheriff’s office.
The accused lair checked out of the hotel on the afternoon of March 8, the folio shows.
Though Wisconsin authorities were not able to bring criminal charges in this case, Schmidt is seeking justice through the lawsuit, officials said.
Schmidt is requesting a jury trial and seeking damages no less than $1 million per defendant – including 10 “John Does” – who he said caused “reputational harm…particularly as he prepares for a re-election campaign in 2026.”
The sheriff’s lawyer Sam Hall, told The Post the lawsuit is “ultimately about accountability.
“This lawsuit was filed because a completely fabricated story was pushed into the national spotlight by Naqvi and Cook County Commissioner Morrison,” Hall said. “Unfortunately, their claims were treated as fact without the most basic verification.
“Sheriff Schmidt is standing up to demand accountability against those who perpetuate lies and fake news.”
Naqvi could not be reached for comment. and Morrison did not respond to inquiries. It wasn’t immediately clear if either has retained a lawyer.
