Skokie Woman Fabricated ICE Detention Story, Sheriff Says

Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi fabricated her own detention by federal immigration agents, a Wisconsin sheriff said Friday, unraveling a story that had drawn national attention and political sympathy at a moment of intense scrutiny over immigration enforcement.

Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt held a news conference to lay out what he called an elaborate hoax. Naqvi, 28, of Skokie, had claimed she and five colleagues were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at O’Hare Airport last month after returning from an overseas work trip. The story spread fast.

Schmidt said the evidence tells a different story. Entirely different.

According to the sheriff, Naqvi was never held at Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin, never transferred in ICE custody from the Broadview detention facility, and never detained at O’Hare. Schmidt said he couldn’t file criminal charges against Naqvi in Wisconsin because no crime under his jurisdiction had been committed. But he said he referred the matter to the FBI and Illinois State Police.

The Broadview facility, formally known as the Chicago Immigration Court’s detention site, had been named specifically in screenshots that Naqvi’s supporters shared with reporters last month. Those screenshots purportedly showed she had been taken to both Broadview and then transferred north to Dodge County. Schmidt addressed those screenshots directly Friday, calling them fabricated.

Naqvi had a documented history of lying to law enforcement, Schmidt said. He did not elaborate publicly on those prior incidents.

The hoax gained significant traction in March when Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison stood alongside Naqvi’s family to bring attention to her alleged detention. Morrison was one of several political figures who amplified the story, framing it as evidence of overreach by federal immigration agents under the Trump administration. The case fed into a broader national conversation about ICE operations and civil liberties, particularly involving U.S. citizens.

Schmidt announced Friday he filed a federal defamation lawsuit against both Naqvi and Morrison. He’s seeking $1 million in damages.

Morrison had spoken out publicly when the story first broke. His office had not issued a statement by the time this article was published.

The timing of the original claims mattered. In March, with immigration enforcement dominating headlines across Chicago and its suburbs, a story about a 28-year-old American citizen being swept up by federal agents and transferred to a Wisconsin jail without clear cause was exactly the kind of case advocates had warned about. It drew immediate support. The story moved.

Still, some details drew scrutiny even then. ICE detention records are publicly searchable, and journalists who checked the locator tool did not find Naqvi in the system.

The thing is, a false detention story doesn’t just damage the sheriff’s department being accused. It drains credibility from the broader conversation about immigration enforcement, one that involves real people facing real consequences. Advocates who vouched for Naqvi’s account will now have to answer for it.

The Chicago metropolitan area has seen significant ICE activity since early 2025. Community organizations on the North and South sides have set up know-your-rights workshops and hotlines. Against that backdrop, Naqvi’s claims landed with impact, and people with standing said they believed her.

Schmidt was pointed about that Friday. He said Morrison amplified a false story to a wider audience without verifying the facts, hence the lawsuit.

The Chicago Sun-Times, which first reported extensively on both Naqvi’s initial claims and Schmidt’s Friday news conference, reviewed the evidence Schmidt presented. It’s the foundational reporting behind this account.

The FBI referral is the most significant development from a legal standpoint. Filing false reports, wire fraud, and obstruction-related charges are potential avenues federal investigators could explore, though no charges have been filed and no federal agency has confirmed an active investigation.

Naqvi has not made any public statement since Schmidt’s news conference.

What happens next falls into two tracks. Schmidt’s defamation lawsuit moves through federal court, where Morrison will have to respond. The FBI and Illinois State Police referrals could lead to charges against Naqvi, or they could stall. Either way, the political fallout is already here.

For Morrison, the question is how loudly he spoke and how little he checked before speaking.