Australian national Nicolle Saroukos made national news when she alleged she was wrongfully detained and strip-searched on her way to the US to visit her husband, a US military officer.
Saroukos, aged 25, claimed she was with her mum, travelling through Honolulu Airport in Hawaii, when she began to be interrogated by a security guard. After spending a night in prison, Saroukos – who is an ex-NSW police officer, was forced to board a flight back to Australia. Saroukos had visited Hawaii multiple times on an ESTA in the months before the incident took place on May 17.
Distressed by the incident, Saroukos went to the media and was featured on Nine’s A Current Affair.
Now, Homeland Security has come back swinging in a recent ‘FACT CHECK’ post on social media platform ‘X’.
“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,” the post said.
It went on to say there were multiple red flags about Saroukos’ story.
“Officers determined that she was traveling for more than just tourism. She was unable to remember her wedding date just four months prior,” it said.
“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.”
It also claimed Saroukos said things that weren’t true about her husband’s US military career.
“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’.”
“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,” it finished.
Saroukos denied any plans to live in the US permanently and said the way she was treated was “unjustifiable”. Commenting on the claims that she couldn’t remember her wedding day, Saroukos told news.com.au that her mind was blank after having been interrogated for hours.
“I was crying at this point. I was under immense stress,” she said. She also added that she and her ex had been speaking for months online, prior to getting married, and that she and her former partner had actually split up a long time before the date they proposed.
“They’ve pretty much traumatised me [from] ever returning there, which automatically strains my marriage as well, because my husband lives over there,” she said about visiting the US.
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