Summer Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi, right, said she was detained by federal immigration officials upon her arrival at O’Hare International Airport. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and local officials in Wisconsin, where Naqvi said she was held in custody, are disputing her account. Sister Sarah Afzal is at left. (Sarah Afzal)
By Caroline Kubzansky, Talia Soglin and Alice Yin | Chicago Tribune
A Wisconsin sheriff announced a defamation lawsuit Friday against a Cook County politician and a Skokie woman who recently claimed that federal immigration officials detained her at three locations for nearly 48 hours, including a jail in Dodge County, Wisconsin.
Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt is suing in his individual capacity, alleging damage to his reputation as a result of Summer Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi’s harrowing story that he sought to debunk during a one-hour news conference in the afternoon. He alleged that Naqvi, who was born in Evanston, and Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, a family friend of hers, spread “unverified, uncorroborated and misleading” claims, but said he could not yet identify any Wisconsin laws they broke.
“At no point was Sundas Naqvi in the custody of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office,” Schmidt said. “This is a serious accusation, and when it is not true, it does real damage. It damages the trust between law enforcement and the community. It unfairly puts a target on the backs of officers.”
Neither Naqvi or her sister Sarah Afzal immediately responded to requests for comment on Friday. It was not clear if Naqvi had an attorney. An attorney from a firm representing her on a separate case declined to comment and said he is not representing her in the defamation case.
A woman talks to Sarah Afzal, of Rogers Park, the sister of Sundas Naqvi, near the lectern while Kevin Morrison, a Cook County commissioner, speaks during a press conference near the ICE facility in Broadview Sunday, March 8, 2026. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)
In a text message to the Tribune, Morrison said, “It is my understanding that a lawsuit has been filed, I haven not seen it. And if a suit has in fact been filed, I cannot comment on pending litigation.”
At the news conference in Juneau, Wisconsin, the sheriff laid out a timeline and played a slideshow of surveillance footage, hotel records and text message screenshots that he said proves Naqvi was never held at the Dodge County jail.
Naqvi’s story of disembarking from a flight at O’Hare International Airport on March 5 and allegedly being held by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security at the airport for 30 hours — despite being a U.S. citizen — made international headlines. Her alleged ordeal, according to Morrison and Afzal, included being moved to a notorious immigration processing center in west suburban Broadview and then the Dodge County detention center, before she was released March 7 and hitchhiked to a nearby Holiday Inn.
But Schmidt said Friday his office had no record of Naqvi getting booked into the facility. His lawsuit alleges Naqvi and Morrison’s claims about her alleged detention in the Dodge County jail “were and are false.” His lawsuit seeks damages of more than $1 million against each defendant.
Schmidt produced records from a Rosemont Hampton Inn & Suites that he said show Naqvi checking in about 1:17 p.m. on March 5, plus text messages between an unnamed witness and Naqvi the next day discussing ordering food and using the witness’ credit card to pay a “spa lady.”
“There is no spa at Broadview in Chicago, Illinois,” Schmidt said, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center. “There is no spa lady in our jail here in Dodge County.”
Story continues here.
