sister leticia “letty” ugboaja lives about one block from her church in mcallen, texas. on a sunday morning in late june, she was making the short walk over to distribute holy communion at mass a routine she’d followed for years.
she never made it. immigration and customs enforcement agents stopped her, confiscated her rosary, and put her in handcuffs.
What Happened During the Nun ICE Arrest
sister ugboaja, 56, is a catholic nun originally from nigeria who has lived in south texas for more than a decade. federal agents detained her before she could reach our lady of sorrows church and transported her roughly an hour away to the el valle detention facility in raymondville.
according to sister norma pimentel, who manages the diocese’s charitable arm and knows ugboaja personally, the nun was carrying little more than her rosary and cellphone at the time. she needed medication while in custody. federal agents didn’t allow her to get it.
“she was very distraught and scared, and didn’t understand what was happening,” pimentel told the texas tribune.
speaking publicly for the first time weeks later, ugboaja described going “into a cold sweat” as the armed agents approached her thinking, in that moment, about the day’s bible readings.
The Bipartisan Reaction
the nun ICE arrest produced something rare in current american politics genuine, immediate, bipartisan condemnation.
republican rep. monica de la cruz, whose district covers the area, initially posted that her office was working with the department of homeland security to resolve the situation. she followed up publicly: “as i have repeatedly said, our immigration enforcement should target violent criminals. a catholic nun on her way to church is not a threat to our community.”
democratic rep. henry cuellar said the arrest “raise[s] serious concerns about how immigration enforcement resources are being used.”
both members of congress, from opposing parties, pushed DHS the same day. cuellar posted that after communicating directly with DHS secretary markwayne mullin and border czar tom homan, ugboaja would be released that evening rather than held overnight.
footage aired by telemundo showed her walking out of the detention facility into the arms of sister pimentel.
Why This Case Stood Out
the diocese of brownsville, which oversees ugboaja’s religious order, called the circumstances of her arrest “wildly disturbing.” bishop daniel e. flores issued a statement: “sister letty is a well-known source of goodness and hope in our community, and i am grateful she has been released. there are many questions remaining about the circumstances surrounding sister letty’s arrest and detention.”
DHS did not respond to multiple requests for comment from reporters about why she was targeted or detained in the first place.
what makes the nun ICE arrest particularly notable is ugboaja’s decade-plus record in the community not just as a religious sister, but as a working registered nurse at multiple south texas hospitals. her attorney, carlos m. garcia, described her contribution directly: “a decade of nursing and a lifetime of ministry.”
What Happens Next
the story didn’t end with her release in june.
ugboaja now has an ICE check-in appointment scheduled for july 28. her attorney says the outcome of that appointment is genuinely uncertain officials could determine no further action is needed, or they could detain her again, or place an ankle monitor on her.
“we are asking that she not be detained and that no ankle monitor be placed on a person who has broken no rule, posed no danger,” garcia said.
the swift bipartisan reaction to ugboaja’s arrest mirrors a pattern that’s become familiar for texas’ border delegation members since trump returned to office de la cruz, cuellar, and other south texas representatives from both parties have intervened directly in multiple controversial ICE cases in their districts.
Nun ICE Arrest The Bottom Line
a nun who has spent over a decade nursing and ministering in the same community was handcuffed one block from her church, on her way to mass, with no public explanation given for why she was targeted.
it took direct intervention from both a republican and a democratic member of congress, communicating straight to the DHS secretary, to get her released the same day.
she now faces a check-in that could result in detention or an ankle monitor for reasons DHS still hasn’t publicly explained.
follow this blog for updates as sister ugboaja’s july 28 check-in approaches.
