Illinois Woman Claimed ICE Detained Her. Sheriff Says it's a Hoax and Has Proof She Was in a Hotel

Dodge County, Wisconsin, Sheriff Dale Schmidt has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against a 28-year-old Illinois woman who claimed immigration authorities detained her across two facilities last month, presenting hotel records, surveillance footage and text messages that he said prove she was checked into a hotel near O'Hare International Airport the entire time.

The suit, filed Friday in federal court, names Sundas 'Sunny' Naqvi, of Skokie; Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, who publicly backed her account at a March press conference; and 10 unnamed individuals accused of helping circulate the claims. Schmidt is seeking $1 million in damages from each defendant and has brought the action in his own name, not on behalf of his department, according to CBS News Chicago.

Naqvi attracted national attention in March when her family and Morrison told reporters she and five colleagues returning from a work trip to Turkey on 5 March had been held by US Customs and Border Protection at O'Hare for 30 hours, transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, and then moved to the Dodge County Jail before being released on 7 March.

Schmidt rejected the account outright at a Friday news conference. Naqvi was never booked, held, or transported by his office at any point, he said. Morrison, in a statement Friday, said he could not comment on pending litigation. Naqvi has not responded to requests for comment from multiple outlets, and an attorney who initially said he represented her told The Record he no longer does.

Hotel Records and Federal Timestamps Tell a Different Story

A guest folio Schmidt displayed shows Naqvi registered at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Rosemont at 1:17 p.m. on 5 March—the same day she allegedly entered federal custody. Text messages recovered during the investigation show her asking an acquaintance to cover food and a spa appointment while at the hotel.

Federal records cited by the sheriff place Naqvi in a secondary inspection area at O'Hare from 10:46 a.m. to 11:42 a.m. on 5 March—a span of 56 minutes, not the 30 hours her supporters alleged. The Department of Homeland Security had previously released surveillance stills corroborating the shorter timeline. CBP said she was flagged for additional screening based on law enforcement checks.

Surveillance Footage Traces Route to Wisconsin

Schmidt identified an unnamed man who he said bankrolled Naqvi's Turkey trip and hotel stay, spending approximately $25,000 on her within weeks. On the morning of 7 March, the man drove Naqvi from the Rosemont hotel to a Holiday Inn Express in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, the sheriff said. Gas station cameras in Slinger recorded Naqvi at 5:46 a.m., licence plate readers logged the man's vehicle heading north shortly afterwards, and hotel cameras in Beaver Dam captured her arriving around 6:30 a.m. She left at roughly 6:50 a.m. in a car driven by her sister.

Naqvi's sister, Sarah Afzal, had told reporters that mobile phone tracking data placed Naqvi inside the Dodge County facility overnight. Schmidt said the phone data could have been manipulated and that the physical evidence is irreconcilable with the detention account.

Prior False Report Conviction

Schmidt also cited Naqvi's history with law enforcement. Court records show she entered a guilty plea in 2022 for filing a false police report with Skokie police in 2019, in which she alleged a sexual assault at a park. She served two years of supervised probation, after which a judge dismissed the case. Her LinkedIn profile identifies her as a senior solutions architect at SAP, the German software company, but a spokesperson for SAP told The Record the company has no record of her as a current or former employee or contractor.

Schmidt said his investigation did not identify any Wisconsin statute Naqvi violated, leaving him without grounds for criminal charges in the state. He has referred the matter to the FBI, the Illinois State Police, and local agencies, but declined to confirm whether those inquiries are active. Naqvi and her family have not responded to the lawsuit.