Questions on why ICE arrested a nun proceed to develop after her launch from custody.
The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville mentioned that on Sunday, Sister Leticia Ugboaja was detained by brokers as she was strolling to attend mass at Our Woman of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas.
Sister Ugboaja, a Nigerian nationwide, is a registered nurse at South Texas Well being System and was a licensed nursing assistant at well being heart in Edinburg, Texas, for 10 years, the Diocese mentioned in a press launch. She’s a part of the Daughters of Mary Mom of Mercy congregation and volunteers as a minister at Our Woman of Sorrows Church.
Sister Ugboaja was launched the identical day she was detained, in line with Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican, who initially posted on Fb that her workplace was working with DHS to “resolve Sister Letty’s detainment as shortly as potential.”
In a press release, the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville mentioned: “Right now, we’re persevering with to collect info concerning the circumstances that led to Sister Leticia’s detainment and the style wherein she was detained.”
The Division of Homeland Safety didn’t reply to a number of requests for remark or requests for extra details about why she was detained.
In her social media publish, De La Cruz mentioned: “As I’ve repeatedly mentioned, our immigration enforcement ought to goal violent criminals. A Catholic nun on her technique to church is just not a menace to our group,” she mentioned on Fb.
The solar beams over the Our Woman of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, Monday, June 29, 2026.
Valerie Gonzalez/AP Photograph/Valerie Gonzalez
Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar mentioned in a post on X that reviews concerning the nun’s arrest “elevate critical issues about how immigration enforcement sources are getting used.”
Within the press launch, the diocese thanked native representatives who reached out to DHS on Sister Ugboaja’s behalf.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores condemned the arrest.
“Sister Letty is a well known supply of goodness and hope in our group, and I’m grateful she has been launched. There are lots of questions remaining concerning the circumstances surrounding Sister Letty’s arrest and detention,” Bishop Flores mentioned in a press release.
“For now, it’s clear that Homeland Safety enforcement protocols that make it potential for a non secular sister, or anybody, to be detained and handcuffed whereas peacefully strolling to Church on a Sunday morning are wildly disturbing and should be reformed,” he added.
