BROADVIEW, Ill. (WLS) — Sunny Naqvi, a 28-year-old U.S. citizen, is now back at home after spending about 43 hours in Department of Homeland Security custody.
Naqvi spent some of that time in Broadview before she was sent to a facility in Dodge County, Wisconsin. Her family drove there to pick her up early Saturday morning, and they described the situation as shocking and concerning.
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Naqvi was born in Evanston and raised in the suburbs. A few weeks ago, she was set to travel overseas for a work trip with five other people. That group included three U.S. citizens and three green card holders, all in the U.S. legally.
That trip ultimately fell through at the last minute for other reasons, so the group went on to continue traveling. On Friday, Naqvi and her colleagues arrived back in Chicago, where DHS suddenly detained her for what her attorney says was a “curious travel history.”
Naqvi’s family says she was detained for 30 hours at Chicago O’Hare International Airport before being sent to Broadview and then Wisconsin. At some point, the family lost her location that was being shared from her phone, and federal agents continued to tell them that she was not in custody, despite her location previously showing her at the Broadview facility.
“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,” said Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison.
ABC7 saw a pretty large crowd join some elected officials on Sunday in front of the facility, saying this was an unlawful detainment.
“It was just really scary to me, and I think it’s really scary to know that this can happen to someone born here,” said Sarah Afzal, Naqvi’s sister.
The family says Naqvi hitch hiked a ride from a random woman driving nearby after she was released from the facility in Dodge County, where family then picked her up at a hotel in Wisconsin.
Naqvi is back at home now. She was too shaken to speak with ABC7 on Sunday. ABC7 is still waiting to hear on the status of the five others that were detained with her. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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