Nun Detained by ICE While Walking to Sunday Mass Was Freed Hours Later After Lawmakers Stepped In
Sister Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja left her home in McAllen, Texas, on the morning of June 28 expecting an ordinary Sunday ritual. Wearing her religious habit, she began the short walk toward Our Lady of Sorrows Church, where she planned to attend Mass. Instead, the 56-year-old Catholic nun found herself approached by federal immigration officers, handcuffed and taken into custody.
The arrest quickly transformed a quiet Sunday morning into a national immigration story. Ugboaja, a Nigerian-born member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers before reaching the church, which sits only about a block from her residence. She was eventually transported to the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville.
Contrary to some social-media descriptions saying she was released the following day, reporting from the Associated Press and Texas Tribune shows that Ugboaja was freed later the same day, after spending several hours in custody and after South Texas lawmakers pressed federal officials about the case.
A Nun, Nurse And Church Volunteer Suddenly In ICE Custody
Ugboaja was hardly unknown in her community. Along with her religious duties, she works as a registered nurse at South Texas Health System and previously spent about 10 years working as a certified nursing assistant in Edinburg. At Our Lady of Sorrows, she has served as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
Speaking publicly about the experience weeks later, Ugboaja said she was carrying little more than her rosary and cellphone when two armed men approached her. She recalled becoming frightened and confused because she did not understand what was happening. She said she even pleaded to be allowed to attend Mass and receive Communion, but was not permitted to do so.
Her detention quickly reached church officials and local political leaders. Sister Norma Pimentel, who leads Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, told the Texas Tribune that Ugboaja was distressed and frightened while in custody. The Diocese of Brownsville began seeking answers as word of the arrest spread through the community.
Then members of Congress got involved.
Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz and Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar said they contacted federal officials about Ugboaja’s detention. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez also publicly criticized what had happened. De La Cruz argued that immigration enforcement should focus on violent criminals, saying that a Catholic nun heading to church was not a danger to the community.
Shortly afterward, the release was announced.
Cuellar said that Sister Letty was “on her way home,” and separate reporting quoted him as saying authorities had ordered her released that day rather than the following day. She eventually emerged from the detention facility in tears and was embraced by Pimentel.
Her Immigration Case Is More Complicated Than The Viral Posts Suggest
The arrest also exposed an important piece of Ugboaja’s immigration history.
According to her attorney, Carlos Garcia, an immigration judge denied Ugboaja’s asylum application in 2019. However, the judge also granted her protection from being returned to Nigeria after determining she was likely to face torture there. Garcia said Ugboaja has complied with immigration requirements and has authorization to work in the United States.
That distinction matters. Ugboaja remains under a final removal order, but her protection prevents the federal government from deporting her to Nigeria. Her lawyer has said immigration authorities could potentially attempt to remove her to another country instead. He said that when she was detained in June, officials were planning such a third-country removal. DHS and ICE did not provide AP with a response addressing the circumstances of her detention.
The uncertainty did not disappear when she walked out of detention.
When Ugboaja attended another ICE check-in on July 28 in Harlingen, Texas, she was allowed to leave without being detained or fitted with an ankle monitor. Her attorney said, however, that the possibility of removal to a third country remained open. Her next immigration check-in is scheduled for January 28, 2027.
The Arrest Raised Bigger Questions About Immigration Enforcement
Bishop Daniel Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville welcomed Ugboaja’s release but said serious questions remained. He described immigration protocols that could result in someone being handcuffed while peacefully walking to church on Sunday morning as “wildly disturbing” and called for reform.
The case also landed inside a broader national debate over immigration enforcement near churches and other traditionally sensitive locations. In January 2025, the Trump administration rescinded Biden-era guidance restricting immigration enforcement at places including churches, schools and hospitals, replacing those limits with greater discretion for immigration officers.
For Ugboaja, however, the story became more personal than political.
When she finally spoke publicly in July, she said she was sharing her experience because other immigrants living under legal protections still face uncertainty. Her release brought immediate relief, but it did not resolve the immigration case hanging over her.
That may ultimately be the most important part of Sister Letty’s story: she walked toward church expecting Mass, spent hours in immigration detention instead, returned home after congressional intervention, and is now living with a legal question that remains unresolved.
