Credibility: Original Reporting On the Ground Sources Cited Original Reporting This article contains new, firsthand information uncovered by its reporter(s). This includes directly interviewing sources and research/analysis of primary source documents. On the Ground Indicates that a Newsmaker/Newsmakers was/were physically present to report the article from some/all of the location(s) it concerns. Sources Cited As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom. Sundas 'Sunny' Naqvi. Credit: Provided Editor’s note: A Tribune story published Wednesday about a Skokie woman detained by federal immigration officials has raised concerns about the credibility of her story. Block Club is investigating. BROADVIEW — Nothing could prepare Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi and her five colleagues for the ordeal awaiting them at O’Hare International Airport upon their return flight from Turkey Thursday. Naqvi, along with two other U.S. citizens and three green card holders, was detained by Customs and Border Protection agents Thursday morning in O’Hare Airport’s third terminal, where they were held for roughly 30 hours, according to Naqvi’s family, her attorney and local officials. The group was then taken to the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview Friday evening before being transported to the Dodge Detention Facility in Wisconsin, where they were released early Saturday morning, officials said Sunday. Federal authorities, meanwhile, refused to give Naqvi’s family and supporters information about her whereabouts or even say if she was in their custody, they said. Naqvi’s iPhone location is how supporters kept tabs, Naqvi’s sister, Sarah Afzal, said at a rally Sunday outside of the Broadview ICE facility, 1930 Beach St. “We were being lied to our faces,” Afzal said. “We saw her location smack dab in the middle of the [Broadview] facility. We saw her location in Wisconsin in the middle of that facility … We were in contact with her, and they kept being like, ‘I don’t know what to tell you.'” Naqvi, 28, was born and raised in Evanston and lives in Skokie. A Border Patrol spokesperson denied the allegations made by her supporters. Cook County Commissioner Kevin B. Morrison, 15th, speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency’s processing center in Broadview on Sunday, March 8, 2026. Credit: Talia Sprague for Block Club Chicago The group of six legal U.S. residents were flying back to Chicago from what was supposed to be a connecting flight to India for their jobs. The work trip was canceled after the three green card holders, who have Pakistani passports, were turned back during their layover in Istanbul due to visa issues, according Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison. Border Patrol agents told the group that they’d been detained due to concerns over their “travel history,” Morrison said. Naqvi’s attorney, Robert Held, called for transparency and accountability from the federal government after what officials said was a wrongful detainment. “This is what’s happening around the country,” he said. “The neighborhoods and communities that are being traumatized and terrorized are taking the brunt of this administration’s racist policies. This reign of terror will end one day those responsible will be held to account. There must be transparency and accountability.” Morrison, a close friend of Afzal’s, was quickly alerted to Naqvi’s detention and called on elected officials and rapid response groups to take action Friday, he said. Roughly 100 protesters showed up outside Broadview Friday afternoon demanding her release. “Thank God [Afzal] reached out to me,” Morrison said. “No one should need to have an elected official have to further someone’s voice when their constitutional rights are being impeded on. I’m glad I was able to help in this moment.” Sarah Afzal speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency’s processing center in Broadview on Sunday, March 8, 2026. Credit: Talia Sprague for Block Club Chicago Sundas ‘Sunny’ Naqvi’s shared iPhone location indicating her detention in Broadview and Wisconsin. Credit: Provided Phone communication ended with Naqzi around 3:52 p.m. Friday, with a text claiming she’d been transported to an immigration detention facility, Morrison said. Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, Naqzi’s phone location showed that she was inside the Broadview building until 8:09 p.m. that evening. Morrison reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Illinois, who helped coordinate a walk-through of the facility by 8:30 p.m. Friday by two Cook County Sheriff’s officers, he said. Naqvi and her five colleagues were nowhere to be found inside the Broadview facility. “We think that was when they were moved to Wisconsin,” Morrison said. Around 2:20 a.m. Saturday, Naqvi’s location pinged inside the Dodge facility. She was released around 5 a.m. that morning 9 miles away from the detention center. She was forced to hitchhike to a nearby Holiday Inn, according to Morrison. Naqvi’s five colleagues have also been released, officials said. Their names have not been made public. Naqvi is safe and recovering after almost three consecutive days of no sleep, showers and limited food and water, her sister said. A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection said Monday the claims made about Naqvi are “blatantly false.” “Summer Sundas ‘Sunny” Naqvi, arrived at O’Hare at 10:21 a.m. on March 5, 2026,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “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.” Support Freedom of the Press Independent journalism like this only exists because of readers like you. This World Press Freedom Day, help Block Club raise $20,000 to fuel high-impact investigations that hold Chicago’s institutions and leaders accountable. Make your tax-deductible donation here. Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast: Search Results placeholder Post navigation