US Woman Faces $1 Million Lawsuit For Allegedly Faking 43-Hour Immigration Custody

A US woman who claimed that she was detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers for nearly two days upon her arrival in the country, is facing a $1 million defamation lawsuit filed by a county sheriff. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a social media post called the woman's claims 'blatantly false', detailing that she was instead staying at a hotel, getting spa treatments.

Sundas "Sunny" Naqvi, 28, caught social media's attention last month when she insisted that she was unlawfully detained by ICE officers for roughly 43 hours. Naqvi said she returned to the US from a work trip to Turkey on the morning of March 5 and immediately detained at the Chicago O'Hare International Airport for 30 hours. Afterwards, she was transferred to another ICE facility in Broadview, before ending up at Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin, according to a report in New York Post.

The Homeland Security, however, 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 an X (formerly Twitter) post.

"Here are the receipts: As we said Sunny Naqvi entered the CBP area at 10:21 am. Surveillance footage from O'Hare clearly shows her entering secondary inspection at 10:46 am and leaving secondary to the public area at 11:42 am. Her claims of spending 43 hours in DHS custody are false."

HERE ARE THE RECEIPTS:

As we said Sunny Naqvi entered the CBP area at 10:21 am.

Surveillance footage from O'Hare CLEARLY shows her entering secondary inspection at 10:46 a.m., and leaving secondary to the public area at 11:42 a.m.

Her claims of spending 43 hours in DHS custody… https://t.co/GkqWBLS6sn pic.twitter.com/SWOJmMulcy

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 11, 2026

In a press conference, Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt revealed that Naqvi checked into the Hampton Inn and Suites in Rosemont, Illinois, for the entire duration of the alleged event. Schmidt also shared Naqvi's text messages with an unidentified witness over the following days as she enjoyed free food, spa services and trips to the gym.

The witness told cops he also drove Naqvi to a nearby gas station in the early hours of March 7. She checked out of the hotel on the afternoon of March 8.

"This lawsuit was filed because a completely fabricated story was pushed into the national spotlight by Naqvi and Cook County Commissioner Morrison," sheriff's lawyer, Sam Hall said. "Unfortunately, their claims were treated as fact without the most basic verification."

Schmidt is requesting a jury trial and seeking damages of no less than $1 million per defendant.