A South Asian-origin US citizen’s family and supporters have spoken out against the Department of Homeland Security detaining her at a Chicago airport for hours. Elected officials in the US also rallied behind 28-year-old Sundas ‘Sunny’ Naqvi, who was born in Evanston and raised in the Chicago suburbs.

According to Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison’s account of the incident reported by CBS News, Naqvi and five of her coworkers’ travel plans turned into a nightmare when they were heading to India, with a layover in Turkey, six weeks ago. The visit was slated for work purposes, but all six people, who are legal US residents (three American citizens and three green card holders with Pakistani passports), were barred from boarding the flight.

As suggested by US reports, Naqvi’s sister said that the trip to India was cancelled after three of Sunny’s coworkers, who are green card holders, faced visa issues during their layover in Turkey. The travel snag ultimately led them to travel elsewhere. After their the halt in Turkey, they returned on a flight to the US that landed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at around 10 am Thursday. This is where their troubles escalated even further.

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Where was Sunny Naqvi travelling to?

Naqvi and her colleagues intended to fly to India for a work trip a few weeks ago. However, those plans were cancelled during a layover. In light of the change in plans, she ended up travelling to Bulgaria and Austria instead before returning to Turkey to come back to Chicago, as per EvanstonNow.com.

US reports also cited Afzal saying that three green card holders accompanying her sister on the trip were separated from the US citizens after landing back in Chicago.

Morrison, who is also a friend to Naqvi’s family, noted that all six people were of Pakistani descent, with three of them being US citizens and the other three had green cards. With her trip to India cancelled, Naqvi ended up travelling to Bulgaria and Austria. She and her colleagues were ultimately detained following their return.

Meanwhile, statements offered by the DHS and Naqvi’s family sharply contradict each other. While her family maintained that she was detained for 30 hours at Chicago O’Hare International Airport before being sent to the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, DHS has disputed the claims that she was taken into custody.

The incident prompted strong response from a large crowd of supporters alongside elected officials, who were even spotted protesting the US citizen’s detention, as per videos of the development circulating on social media.

Who is Sunny Naqvi? All we know about the US citizen

As per Morrison’s statements cited by CBS News, Sunny Naqvi was born in Evanston, Illinois, and went to college at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Moreover, Naqvi is a Skokie resident and of Pakistani origin, as per The Record North Shore’s report.

Alluding to her case, US Senator Chris Larson wrote on Facebook, “Meet Sunny Naqvi. A lifelong U.S. Citizen from Illinois, Naqvi was returning home from a business trip with 5 other people, who were all in the country legally. She was then detained by immigration officials at O’Hare Airport for 30 hours before being transferred to an ICE detention facility in Wisconsin.”

“Federal agents repeatedly lied, saying she was not in custody. After nearly 2 full days she was released, needing to hitchhike to a nearby hotel to call for a ride home. This should not happen in any nation that purports to call itself the ‘Land of the Free.'”

What happened with Sunny Naqvi?

According to US reports, Naqvi’s family has accused the DHS of unlawfully detaining her despite being an American citizen. A few weeks ago, Sunny and her colleagues were set to travel abroad for a work trip. As the trip fell through at the last minute, the group continued travelling, as per ABC7Chicago.

Naqvi and her coworkers eventually landed in Chicago on Thursday (US time), where they allegedly held back for hours over what her attorney claimed was a “curious travel history.” Her family now insists that at some point they lost her location that had been shared from her phone.

At one point, before her location stopped updating, her most recent location reportedly showed her at the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. As per their account, she is believed to have been taken there after being detained at the Chicago airport for 30 hours.

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In statements shared with multiple US news outlets, Sarah Afzal, Naqvi’s sister, pressed that the authorities lied to them that Naqvi was not in custody. “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,'” she said.

Meanwhile, Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison said, “”They asked for Sunny’s phone number so they can search the facility for her phone. About 10 minutes later, the phone was opened, text messages were read and the phone was turned off, and we lost her location,” according to ABC7’s report.

The US report also cited her family saying that she was even sent to a facility in Dodge County, Wisconsin, where she was released early Saturday morning. In addition to Custom and Border Protection officials disputing the claims, the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office also released a statement, saying that she was never booked at a facility in his county.

As quoted in an Evanston Now report, Naqvi is believed to have messages a friend writing, “I think I’m at an ICE detention centre.” After that, she is said to have stopped responding to messages.

What is DHS saying about the Pakistani-origin American’s detention?

Rubbishing claims made by her family, a CBP spokesperson told US outlets that Naqvi was never detained. The Monday statement branded the passenger’s claims “blatantly false,” adding, “Summer Sundas ‘Sunny” Naqvi, arrived at O’Hare 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,” as quoted by CBS News.

As per the statement, Naqvi departed CBP withing 90 minutes of arrival to the US.

“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 added.