Naqvi was born in Evanston and raised in the Chicago suburbs. A few weeks ago, she was set to travel overseas for a work trip with five other people, her family said. 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; so the group went on to continue traveling. On Thursday, March 5, Naqvi and her colleagues arrived back in Chicago, where DHS allegedly 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.
DHS detains US citizen at O'Hare, releases her in WI after 40 hours
At some point, the family said, they lost Naqvi's location that was being shared from her phone. Relatives said federal agents continued to tell them that Naqvi was not in custody, despite her location previously showing her at the Broadview Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.
"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.'"
ABC7 saw a pretty large crowd join some elected officials on Sunday, March 8 in front of the Broadview facility, saying this was an unlawful detainment.
"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.
The family said Naqvi was later sent to a facility in Dodge County, Wisconsin, where she was later released in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 7.
They said her phone was dead, so she had to hitch hike with a person driving nearby to a hotel, where her family was able to pick her up.
"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 kind of getting it together. She doesn't want this to be about her. This is about everyone that is illegally detained."
CBP officials are now disputing the family's claims.
A CBP spokesperson said Naqvi was never detained. They say she was flagged when arriving at O'Hare for additional inspection based on law enforcement checks.
She was then released within 90 minutes of arriving at O'Hare, CBP said.
On Monday, the Dodge County Sheriff's Office released a statement, saying they were made aware of allegations that Naqvi was taken to the Dodge County Jail. The sheriff's office says Naqvi was never booked there.
DHS posted photos online, appearing to show a person they say is Naqvi entering a Border Patrol inspection area at O'Hare at 10 a.m. on March 5.
The second image purportedly shows her leaving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody an hour and 20 minutes later.
DHS disputes Naqvi's allegation that she was taken to Broadview and a Wisconsin facility and held for 43 hours.
The attorney who was representing Naqvi referred to the family for comment.
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 allegedly detained with her.