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 Girl 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 Girl of Sorrows Church.
Sister Ugboaja was launched the identical day she was detained, in accordance 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 rapidly as attainable.”
In an announcement, the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville mentioned: “At the moment, we’re persevering with to assemble data 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 put up, De La Cruz mentioned: “As I’ve repeatedly mentioned, our immigration enforcement ought to goal violent criminals. A Catholic nun on her solution to church just isn’t a menace to our group,” she mentioned on Fb.
The solar beams over the Our Girl of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, Monday, June 29, 2026.
Valerie Gonzalez/AP Picture/Valerie Gonzalez
Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar mentioned in a post on X that stories in regards to the nun’s arrest “elevate severe considerations about how immigration enforcement assets 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 widely known supply of goodness and hope in our group, and I’m grateful she has been launched. There are numerous questions remaining in regards to the circumstances surrounding Sister Letty’s arrest and detention,” Bishop Flores mentioned in an announcement.
“For now, it’s clear that Homeland Safety enforcement protocols that make it attainable 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.
