The story of a Chicago-area woman who claimed she was detained for 43 hours after arriving at Chicago O’Hare International Airport has taken another dramatic turn. Federal authorities have now released surveillance images and doubled down on their claim that the entire story is false.
DHS Says Sunny Naqvi Was Never Detained At O’Hare. So What Really Happened?
Earlier this week, I reported on the case of Sunny Naqvi, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen from the Chicago suburbs who claimed she had been detained for 43 hours after returning to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD). According to her family and attorney, Naqvi was allegedly taken from the airport, transported to an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, and later moved to a detention center in Dodge County, Wisconsin before being released.
You can read my original coverage here and my follow-up article examining conflicting accounts here.
But since that second article was published, the federal government has pushed back even more forcefully against Naqvi’s claims.
DHS Releases Surveillance Images
The Department of Homeland Security says the entire detention story is “blatantly false.” According to DHS, Naqvi arrived at O’Hare at 10:21 a.m. on March 5 and was referred to secondary inspection by Customs and Border Protection officers. DHS says she left CBP custody roughly 90 minutes later.
To bolster that claim, DHS released surveillance still images that it says show Naqvi inside the airport during that timeframe.
“The passenger’s claims are blatantly false. Summer Sundas ‘Sunny’ Naqvi arrived at O’Hare at 10:21 a.m. on March 5, 2026. CBP officers referred her to secondary inspection for additional inspection based on law enforcement checks and conducted a baggage exam. Ms. Naqvi departed CBP within 90 minutes of her arrival to the United States.”
To be clear, the surveillance photos alone do not prove what happened after that moment. A still image inside an airport does not rule out the possibility that someone could later have been transported elsewhere. The pictures themselves are not clear, show signs of editing (ostensibly just removing some identifying info like camera numbers), and are impossible to make an unambiguous ID based on the provided photos.
But the government’s position is now unambiguous: Naqvi was never detained, never transferred to ICE, and never transported to Wisconsin.
Other Parts Of The Story Are Also Being Challenged
Meanwhile, officials in Dodge County, Wisconsin have also disputed the original account. The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office again confirmed it has no record that Naqvi was ever booked, detained, or released from the county jail during the timeframe she was allegedly held there. However, they have also refused to release surveillance footage from that night, citing an active federal investigation.
That directly contradicts the narrative presented by Naqvi’s family and attorney.
Additional questions have also surfaced around Naqvi’s background. I previously mention that her LinkedIn page has disappeared, and now a spokesperson for SAP, the German software company she allegedly worked for, said that Naqvi had never been employed there and also added that none of its employees had been detained at Chicago O’Hare (Naqvi said three of her colleagues had also been detailed).
You would think that even if she was just a contractor, SAP would have clarified that.
Where Is Sunny Naqvi?
Perhaps the most striking development over the last 48 hours is the silence.
Naqvi’s family, Kevin Morrison, the Cook County commissioner who had been assisting them, and the family’s attorney Robert Held have all been publicly quiet since DHS issued its statement and released the surveillance images.
If the government’s account is wrong, this should be easy to rebut.
Airports like O’Hare are saturated with cameras. Phone location records exist. Transportation logs would exist if a detainee were moved between facilities. There should be documentation, witnesses, or other evidence supporting Naqvi’s account.
Yet so far, none has been produced.
So the obvious question becomes: where are they? Where is Sunny Naqvi?
At this point, two completely incompatible narratives exist.
The federal government says Naqvi was never detained and left O’Hare within about 90 minutes. Naqvi’s family previously claimed she was transported across two states and held for nearly two days.
If the government is wrong, Naqvi should come forward immediately and present the evidence supporting her account. If the government is right, then this episode represents an extraordinary fabrication that has misled the public and wasted enormous attention and resources.
The Naqvi family has gone silent since Tuesday, saying “We’d like everyone to respect our family’s privacy due to safety concerns.” Nope. You need to come forward…either to hold DHS accountable or to ask for forgiveness for lying.
CONCLUSION
The story of Sunny Naqvi’s alleged 43-hour detention at O’Hare has evolved rapidly over the last several days. DHS says the claim is “blatantly false” and has now released surveillance images. Local officials in Wisconsin also insist say they have no record that she was ever detained there.
The burden now shifts to Naqvi and those who amplified her story.
If the account was accurate, it should be backed up with evidence. If it was not, then it is time to come forward, clarify what really happened, and repent for spreading a story that appears increasingly difficult to believe.
Sunny seems to have been MIA longer than her family alleges she was “detained.”
She always had that “influencer” look about her.
Finally, someone else notices her ‘looks’…
I don’t get it, 1990. You’ve made that remark repeatedly. What am I missing? I’ve used more flattering picture of her…there are others that are not so flattering.
@1990: sucks to be wrong, doesn’t it? Again.
Who’s sucking what now?
Sadly this empowers the DHS in being able to say that all detentions are exaggerated when in fact thousands are being illegally held. If this turns into another Jussie Smollet case that delegitimizes the actual plight of others and she will have to live with that.
I recommend Sunny hire Tiffany Gomas ( aka crazy plane lady’s ) PR firm. She’s going to need a spin doctor to weasel out of the trouble
“That MF back there is not REAL!”
I like Gomas. And darn if she didn’t clean it right up!
In this information age, lying about your whereabouts is just plain stupid.
“the surveillance photos alone do not prove what happened after that moment.”
So, I guess, let’s call it case-closed… psh.
to think how many posts were made convinced that the US government was wrong – just because some people are convinced they always are.
there is so much technology including cameras in the western world (and alot of the east too) that you have to really work hard to leave no evidence of your whereabouts and not get caught on a camera or a license plate reader or other technology.
Because DHS has been caught in several bald faced lies since the trump administration began. They have lost any benefit of the doubt.
+1.
Nailed it.
@Tim Dunn: I think Billy Bob is correct that DHS has not earned our trust. I’m still not convinced it is telling the truth, though I think the refusal of Sunny to come forward is very damning.
Neither DHS nor this would-be influencer have any credibility. Liars everywhere now.
Yep. Sad times…
even criminals don’t get convicted on their reputation but rather the facts of the case.
Tim Dunn talking about facts.
This is like the most hilarious joke of the year.
Or in the case of Trump they don’t get convicted on facts despite their reputation. Do you have a point?
You are such an idiot, Tim Dunn.
As someone who called this as a scam from the start I’m still willing to admit public perception of ICE and ICE’s actual actions led her to come up with this excuse for whatever she was doing.
Like the Jussie hoax, a narrative that many wanted to believe (even rooted for) happened was used by a scammer. But without the issues that are happening it wouldn’t have been an option in her mind.
Here’s a wild suggestion on a win/win for everyone. Give the Dems some of the things they want regarding accountability from ICE in exchange for opening Homeland Security and TSA. Maybe it will keep crazies like Sunny from thinking of ICE as an excuse when they go on a drug and sex fueled bender and get caught.
Yes exactly – DHS’s recent actions, lies, and lowered public perception all made them a better target for this likely false story. Shows you the consequences of the government acting the way it has for the last year.
And on this we can agree. GOP has the majority, but if it is unwilling to change filibuster rule, it cannot blame Dems. Dems offered again yesterday to fund TSA and Coast Guard immediately, just not ICE. To me, this all falls on the GOP.
No masks for ICE…they must also wear ID badges. Forget exempting schools and churches…even I don’t want that if it is a criminal alien and not just a dude trying to cut your lawn or wash your car. Call it a win for democracy and move on.
Plain black uniforms and masked faces are real Secret Police stuff, reminiscent of Ceaușescu’s Securitate, or the NVKD at the height of Stalin’s reign. It’s unacceptable in a democratic state. They’re not FBI or CIA operating under deep cover, they’re out in the street with automatic weapons, and should be identifiable by sight.
Also thank you for the follow up stories and staying with it, even if it doesn’t fit what I believe you wanted to see happen. As well as for publishing the best travel blog out there.
Agreed.
The bigger issue with these hoaxes (and there are a laundry list) is that it makes real victims work harder to prove their cases.
+1
Now DHS should just blacklist everyone on her family and defense team so they all receive secondary on every border crossing.
Truth or Consequences
That’d be ‘collective punishment’ and is usually frowned upon, but… fascists gon fascist, I guess…
I get that there is a lot of hate towards ICE and everything that Trump is doing – but when does stupid nonsense like this cross a line and need to be punished?
it is games like this that distort the reality of what is going on that just inflames everyone and everything and makes everything harder and more complex – there needs to be accountability and this is NOT protected speech. This is play stupid games, win stupid prizes…….
@Michael, part of me is very sympathetic to your viewpoint. I don’t know that we need to lock up people who lie to the public or the press (which would put most politicians in jail), but if she did lie to federal agents, she should be arrested…and made an example of.
If we locked-up everyone who lies to the press every member of the Congress and State Houses would be in prison. So would most high-profile CEOs, and almost everyone in the music, fashion, and movie businesses.
She sounds like a big liar to me! Period.
The sad thing about this whole narrative is that because of the way things have been going the last year or so… it seems like something that COULD have happened instead of thinking… “Nah, something like that wouldn’t happen in this country”. 🙁
100% agree.