A U.S. citizen named Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi was held for more than 40 hours by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to her family.
Naqvi, a 28-year-old woman of Pakistani descent, was detained after returning to the United States from an overseas trip. Her attorney says federal authorities justified the detention by pointing to what they described as a “curious travel history.”
However, officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection dispute that characterization, according to a report by ABC News.
Naqvi was born in Evanston, Illinois, and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. A U.S. citizen by birth, she had traveled overseas for a work trip with five colleagues. Three of them were Pakistani nationals who held green cards and were living in the United States legally.
The group had originally planned to travel to India, but not everyone was allowed to board the flight, according to CBS News. Instead, they changed their plans and traveled to Bulgaria and Austria.
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On Thursday, the group arrived at O’Hare International Airport from Turkey. As they stepped off the plane, all six were taken into custody by the Department of Homeland Security.
Naqvi’s family said she was held at the airport for about 30 hours before being transferred to a detention facility in Broadview operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Relatives said that at one point they lost the location tracking from her phone. Even though the phone had previously shown her at the Broadview facility, the family said federal agents continued to tell them that Naqvi was not in custody.
“The cops were lying to our faces,” said Sarah Afzal, Naqvi’s sister. “We were asking them, ‘Hey, her location is here. We were in contact with her,’ and they kept being like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you.’”
On Sunday, a group of people gathered outside the Broadview detention center calling for Naqvi’s release.
Her family said she was later transferred to a facility in Dodge County, Wisconsin, and was eventually released. By that time, her phone had died. According to relatives, she relied on a passing driver to hitch a ride to a nearby hotel, where her family was finally able to meet her.
“It was just really scary to me, and I think it’s really scary to know that this can happen to someone born here,” Afzal said. “This whole morning was about just trying to get through it. She doesn’t want this to be about her. This is about everyone who is illegally detained.”
“I spoke with Sunny around 1:30 on Friday, and then her phone started pinging right behind me at the Broadview detention facility,” said Kevin Morrison, a family friend.
“It is our belief that during that time, they began moving the six individuals from Broadview to an immigration facility in Wisconsin,” he said.
Morrison said all six members of the group were of Pakistani descent. Three were U.S. citizens and the other three held green cards.
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“All she was told was there was curious travel history, but they had no cause to detain her for those 30 hours,” Morrison said.
However, a spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection disputed those claims in a statement reported by CBS News.
“Summer Sundas ‘Sunny’ Naqvi, arrived at O’Hare International Airport at 10:21 a.m. on March 5, 2026. CBP officers referred her to Secondary, 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. Ms Naqvi was not taken into custody or transferred to ICE for detention. CBP did NOT transfer any individuals to Broadview or perform any phone detentions from her flight on Thursday, March 5th,” the spokesperson said.
Naqvi’s sister said the group’s travel plans had already changed after three of her coworkers encountered visa issues during a layover in Turkey. The India trip was canceled, and Naqvi instead traveled to Bulgaria and Austria before returning to Turkey to catch a flight back to Chicago, according to Evanston Now.
At one point during the ordeal, Naqvi is believed to have sent a message to a friend saying, “I think I’m at an ICE detention center.” After that message, she reportedly stopped responding.