detention took center stage Friday as Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt said evidence shows Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi fabricated a story that she was held by federal immigration authorities for more than a day. Schmidt made the claim during a news conference in Wisconsin, where he also said he has filed a federal defamation lawsuit against Naqvi and Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison. The dispute now moves into court as the sheriff seeks $1 million and federal discovery moves ahead in the case.
What the sheriff says happened
Schmidt said the supposed detention never occurred and that records, surveillance footage and text messages point to a very different timeline. He said Naqvi went from O’Hare International Airport to a Rosemont hotel, then later asked someone to drive her to Wisconsin, where she reunited with family.
The sheriff said he could not charge Naqvi with crimes in Wisconsin, but he referred the matter to other agencies, including the FBI and Illinois State Police. He also said cellphone location records suggesting she was inside the jail were likely spoofed.
The claims had been public for weeks before Schmidt’s latest presentation. Supporters, including Morrison and Naqvi’s family, had said she and five colleagues were detained by federal immigration agents at O’Hare while returning from an overseas work trip, then moved to an immigration facility in Broadview and later to Dodge County Jail. Schmidt says his evidence shows that account was false.
Detention claims, records, and the lawsuit
The sheriff’s office says there is no record of booking, detention, or release involving Naqvi at Dodge County Jail. The office also says there was no coordination with federal or out-of-state agencies and that she was never in local custody. Schmidt’s suit names Naqvi and Morrison and seeks damages tied to what he describes as defamatory statements about an unlawful detention.
In the court case, a federal judge allowed expedited discovery, giving Schmidt a path to obtain limited records before the usual early-stage conference process. The judge said the request was narrow and time-sensitive, focusing on cellphone records and hotel surveillance that could help establish where Naqvi was during the period she claimed to be detained. The order also notes that the information could help identify unnamed defendants in the case.
Immediate reactions and broader fallout
Schmidt told reporters he did not know why someone would tell such a story, but he floated possible motives, including hostility toward President Trump or ICE. He also said the alleged detention had caused reputational harm and created a need to respond forcefully in court.
The Department of Homeland Security had previously said Naqvi’s claims were false. The Cook County sheriff’s office also said Naqvi was not found during a search of the Broadview facility, adding another break in the account that had circulated publicly.
Morrison publicly amplified the claims after they first surfaced, saying Naqvi had been held by immigration agents and later transported across state lines. Schmidt disputes those statements and says they helped spread the story before it was verified.
Quick context and what comes next
This case now sits at the intersection of immigration allegations, public statements by elected officials, and a civil defamation fight. The dispute has already drawn comparisons to a prior high-profile hoax, but the court record now matters more than the commentary around it.
What comes next is likely to be a paper trail: subpoenas, records, and surveillance footage that could either strengthen Schmidt’s case or force a more detailed response from the defense. For now, the central question remains whether the claimed detention was real or, as Schmidt says, a carefully staged fiction built around detention.
