Woman claimed she was detained by ICE but was really at hotel: lawsuit

An Illinois woman who claimed she was detained by ICE for nearly two days was actually relaxing at a hotel getting spa treatments, according to a $1 million defamation suit filed by a county sheriff. 

US citizen Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, 28, gained national attention last month when she and a band of supporters – including Cook County, Ill., Commissioner Kevin Morrison – publicly insisted she was unlawfully detained by ICE officers for roughly 43 hours. 

Naqvi claimed that after landing back in the US from a work trip to Turkey on the morning of March 5, she was detained for nearly 30 hours at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, then transferred to another ICE facility in Broadview, Ill., before winding up at Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin. 

Morrison, who called the Chicago-area native his “best friend’s sister,” shared questionable screenshots of Naqvi’s location at the Juneau, Wisc., jail on Facebook – and decried the alleged incident during a tense media conference alongside Naqvi’s sister March 8. 

“This is a 28-year-old girl just left on the street by ICE in another state, without her property,” the commissioner said.

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.