Dodge Sheriff Sues Over False Detention Claims

Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt filed a federal defamation lawsuit on Friday seeking $1 million in damages against Sundas "Sunny" Naqvi, a 28-year-old woman from Skokie, Illinois, and Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, along with 10 unnamed individuals, over false claims that Naqvi was detained by federal immigration authorities last month.

Naqvi drew national attention in early March when she alleged that she and five colleagues, all U.S. citizens or green card holders, were detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport upon returning from a trip to Turkey on March 5. According to her account, the group was held at the airport for about 30 hours before being transferred to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, and then to the Dodge County Jail in Wisconsin, where they were released without belongings or transportation in the early morning of March 7, totaling nearly 43 hours in custody.

Federal officials quickly disputed the narrative. The Department of Homeland Security stated that Naqvi, a U.S. citizen, was referred to secondary inspection at O'Hare based on law enforcement checks and a...