The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has “fact-checked” an Australian woman’s claims after she was detained and deported.
Nikki Saroukos spoke out about her treatment by U.S. border officials after she was forced to spend a night in prison and subjected to an invasive body search on May 17.
The 25-year-old, who is from Sydney, had been traveling to Hawaii to meet her husband, a U.S. citizen who is in the military and stationed in the Pacific island state.
Highlights
- Nikki Saroukos, an Australian bride, was detained, strip-searched, and deported after packing too many clothes for her Hawaii trip.
- DHS claimed Saroukos raised suspicions by traveling frequently and could not recall her wedding date during interrogation.
- Border officers questioned Saroukos about her job, marriage, and income, and found 1,000 deleted texts.
- Saroukos denied DHS' claims, explaining her stress during questioning caused memory lapses.
- The incident highlights intensified US border screening and deportations under Trump's stricter immigration policies.
Nikki Saroukos has spoken out about her treatment while she was detained last month
Image credits: The Project
In the months prior, she had used an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under the Visa Waiver Program three times to visit the state without issue.
Saroukos claimed she was interrogated about her former job as a police officer, her marriage, income, and digital footprint.
The questioning came after she landed at Daniel K Inouye International Airport in Honolulu last month.
While her mother, also subjected to a bag and document search, was let go, she was required to stay in custody as officials believed she had packed too many clothes for a three-week stay.
Saroukos was required to provide a DNA swab and sign a declaration stating she had no ties to the cartel or any gang affiliations.
Image credits: Kevin Carter/Getty Images
After spending the evening in prison without dinner or a shower, Saroukos was deported back to Australia, where she spoke to several media outlets.
When the story gained international attention, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responded on X to “fact check” the claims and defend its actions.
“Nicolle Saroukos’s recent long-term trips to the United States and suspicious luggage resulted in her being reasonably selected for secondary screening by CBP,” it said.
Officers believed she was traveling for “more than just tourism” and said she could not remember her wedding date, which was just four months prior.
Image credits: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“Saroukos met her now-husband during a trip on December 13, 2024, the same day her ex-partner left her,” the post continued.
“The two spent only eight days together before she returned to Australia on December 21.
“Saroukos then got married on January 24, 2025, after only knowing her husband for just over a month.”
Border officials also discovered 1,000 deleted text messages between Saroukos and her partner.
They say she also claimed her husband was going to leave the military, despite him confirming he was adding her to his military documents.
The DHS defended its actions in a social media post
Image credits: DHSgov
“If you attempt to enter the United States under false pretenses, there are consequences,” the post concluded.
Saroukos has now hit back at Homeland Security and defended her marriage, citing extreme stress as the reason for forgetting her wedding date.
She told news.com.au that the statement was “ridiculous” and that the information in it had been “twisted.”
“The reasons they came up with were not even justifiable to throw someone in prison anyway,” she said.
“A country has a right to deport you if they don’t want you in their country, fair enough."
Image credits: The Project
“But I don’t agree with the treatment … why are you throwing people in prison, why are they being subject to strip searches and cavity searches and being placed in handcuffs, like your rights taken away from you.”
Saroukos denied she had met her now husband on the day she split up with her ex, and claimed to have been speaking to him online for months.
While she was on holiday with her ex in Hawaii, they stayed in different rooms and had split up months before, she claimed.
“I met my husband after my ex had left the island. I relocated to a different hotel, three days after I got that new hotel I then reached out to Matthew and we tried to organize to catch up,” she told news.com.au.
Image credits: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images
During the interrogation, she said she was crying and under intense stress, which caused her to forget her wedding date.
As for the deleted text messages between her and her partner, Saroukos said the pair had an argument and she didn’t want to keep re-reading the messages.
“With the decision of them coming out and saying ‘she didn’t remember her (wedding) date,’ I’m like, it’s not a criminal offense to forget a date? I mean, I don’t even remember people’s birthdays let alone a date under that amount of stress,” she said.
“They are just saying because I deleted the text messages, it’s suspicious. Again, the only thing I can come back and say with that is, it’s not a bloody crime to delete text messages between you and your partner,” Saroukos continued.
Saroukos says she has no plans to permanently move to the U.S.
“It’s my f***ing phone. I'm not committing an offense. They’ve just grabbed that and run with it and they’re missing out the fact they actually read the deleted text messages and there was nothing (illegal) there.”
Saroukos said she has no plans to move to the U.S. permanently, and was hopeful her husband would eventually be able to move to Australia.
Saroukos’ experience comes amid Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, with a hardline approach in place after he took office for a second term in January.
Since then, thousands of people have been deported and screening procedures for all travelers—even those from allied nations like Australia—have ramped up.