(OSV News) — A religious sister on her way to Sunday Mass at a church in the border city of McAllen, Texas, was detained by U.S. Customs and Enforcement agents for several hours June 28.
News agencies in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley said Sister Leticia Ugboaja was released from ICE custody hours later, after intervention from several congressional representatives.
Sister Leticia, known as Sister Letty, is a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, a congregation founded in Nigeria.
According to the Diocese of Brownsville, she also serves as a registered nurse at a McAllen-based medical center that is part of South Texas Health System. She had previously worked for 10 years as a certified nursing assistant at DHR Health in Edinburg, Texas.
Detained while walking to church
She was detained as she was walking to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, where she serves as an extraordinary minister of holy Communion.
Sister Leticia, wearing her religious habit, had just emerged from her residence near the church when she was arrested by immigration enforcement agents, a McAllen-based woman religious who spoke with Sister Leticia after her release told OSV News.
“My team and I are working with (the Department of Homeland Security) to gather details regarding the detainment,” Republican Congresswoman Monica De La Cruz, of Texas’ 15th Congressional District, wrote June 28 on various social media channels. “I have elevated this to the highest levels and will provide additional information as it becomes available.”
Later that same day, De La Cruz posted an update, saying, “I just got off the phone with (Homeland Security) Secretary (Markwayne) Mullin. I’m pleased to announce that Sister Letty will be coming home.”
Thankful for all the prayers
De La Cruz, whose message was reposted by Our Lady of Sorrows on Facebook, added, “My office worked closely with the Department of Homeland Security, and I’m grateful they acted to resolve this quickly. Thank you to everyone who kept her in their prayers. God is good.”Our Lady of Sorrows Parish shared the news of her detention on Facebook shortly after it happened.
“We pray for her safety, peace, and strength during this difficult time, and we hope for a swift and just resolution that allows her to be released soon,” the parish wrote.
In a June 29 statement provided to OSV News, the Diocese of Brownsville said that it was “grateful for the rapid outpouring of support for Sister Leticia from the local community.”
“We are grateful also for the quick response of local representatives who reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to get her released from custody,” said the diocese.
Sister is ‘a well-known source of goodness and hope’
The diocesan statement also quoted Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, who described Sister Leticia as “a well-known source of goodness and hope in our community.”
“I am grateful she has been released,” said Bishop Flores.
He added, “There are many questions remaining about the circumstances surrounding Sister Letty’s arrest and detention.”
“For now, it is clear that Homeland Security enforcement protocols that make it possible for a religious sister, or anyone, to be detained and handcuffed while peacefully walking to Church on a Sunday morning are wildly disturbing and need to be reformed,” said Bishop Flores.
‘Hyperaggressive immigration policies’
“This is just another effect of this administration’s hyperaggressive immigration policies in our communities. They have now led to targeting nuns on their way to Sunday Mass. It’s a far cry (from) the criminals they said they would detain and deport,” Texas Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat, said in a statement reported by Global Sisters Report.
De La Cruz also said immigration enforcement shouldn’t be random.
“As I have repeatedly said, our immigration enforcement should target violent criminals,” she said. “A Catholic nun on her way to church is not a threat to our community.”
OSV News was awaiting a response to a detailed list of questions submitted to ICE regarding Sister Leticia’s arrest.
Rhina Guidos is the Latin America regional correspondent for Global Sisters Report. Follow her on X @rhina_guidos. Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
