The US government has launched an extraordinary attack on an Australian woman who complained she was detained, stripped and held overnight in a federal prison while trying to visit her American boyfriend.
Former NSW police officer Nikki Saroukos, 25, was detained by US border officials upon entering the country via Honolulu, Hawaii on May 17.
The 25-year-old thought it would be a routine visit to see her husband who has been stationed as a US Army lieutenant on the Pacific island and US state since August, 2023.
Mrs Saroukos had successfully visited the Hawaii three times in recent months an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) under the Visa Waiver Program.
At no point was she given a reason for her detention, beyond the fact that border officials did not believe her story that she was visiting her husband.
Mrs Saroukos said she was ‘treated like a criminal’ as she was denied her rights, subject to invasive searches, humiliating treatment and a night in a federal detention facility before being deported back to Australia.
However, The US Department of Homeland Security has fired back at Mrs Sourokos’ claims in a post shared to X on Saturday.
In a post described as a ‘fact check’, the US Department of Homeland Security defended its officers who determined Mrs Saroukos was ‘travelling for more than just tourism’ and took aim at the brief duration of her marriage.
Nikki Saroukos, 25, is pictured alongside her husband whom she had planned to visit before she was detained and deported back to Australia over the weekend
‘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 read.
Officials did not believe her story that she was visiting her husband after claiming she had packed more clothing than was necessary for a three-week stay.
‘Officers determined that she was traveling for more than just tourism. She was unable to remember her wedding date just four months prior,’ the post read.
Saroukos met her now-husband during a trip on December 13, 2024, the same day her ex-partner left her. 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.’
The department also accused her of having ‘unusual activity on her phone’ and making false claims about her husband’s military service.
‘During screening, CBP (Customs and Border Protection) noted there was unusual activity on her phone, including 1000 deleted text messages from her husband because she claimed they caused her ‘anxiety’,’ the post read.
‘Saroukos even claimed that her husband was going to leave the US military, despite him telling CBP he was adding her to his military documents.
‘If you attempt to enter the United States under false pretenses, there are consequences.’
In a post described as a ‘fact check’, the US Department of Homeland Security defended its officers who determined Mrs Saroukos was ‘travelling for more than just tourism’ and took aim at the brief duration of her marriage
Ms Saroukos (right) was travelling with her mother (left) at the time. The two were taken aside for questioning before her mother was allowed access to the country
Mrs Saroukos vehemently denied having any plans to live in the US permanently and slammed Homeland Security’s reasons for putting her in a jail cell as ‘unjustifiable’.
While she agreed with the department’s timeline of her relationship, she claimed it failed to mention she had been talking to her husband on a dating app for months before they met in person.
Mrs Saroukos also denied the department’s claims that she had met her now-husband on the same day she split from her former-partner.
She explained she had split from her ex-partner earlier in the year but had stayed in ‘separate rooms’ when they holidayed together in Hawaii.
Mrs Saroukos added relocated to a different hotel when her ex left the island and reached out to met her husband three days later.
When asked about why she was unable to remember her wedding date, Mrs Saroukos said her mind went blank as she was interrogated for hours.
‘I was crying at this point. I was under immense stress,’ Mrs Saroukos told news.com.au.
‘With the decision of them coming out and saying ‘she didn’t remember her (wedding) date’, I’m like it’s not a criminal offence to forget a date? I mean, I don’t even remember people’s birthdays let alone a date under that amount of stress.’
Mrs Saroukos said she had deleted the 1,000 text messages as they were when she and her partner were having a disagreement and she did not want to re-read them.
She claimed officials could have easily read the conversation by recovering the messages from the deleted section on her IPhone.
‘It’s not a bloody crime to delete text messages between you and your partner,’ Mrs Saroukos said.
‘It’s my f***ing phone. I’m not committing an offence. 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.’
She added she had no intention of applying for a green card as a military spouse, despite the discrepancies in her and her husband’s statements about the future.
Mrs Saroukos said the long-term plan had always been for her husband to apply for a visa and move to Australia after he left the military.
She claimed her husband only mentioned applying for a green card while she was being questioned as the ordeal was proving difficult for her to travel.
