A Catholic nun was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents while walking to church to attend Sunday Mass in McAllen, Texas. Hours later he regained his freedom thanks to the intervention of religious leaders, legislators from both parties and members of the community who asked for his immediate release.

The nun is Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a Nigerian citizen who belongs to the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy congregation. In addition to her pastoral work as Extraordinary Minister of Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, she works as a registered nurse at the South Texas Health System and for a decade served as a certified nursing assistant in the region.

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They stopped her when she was walking to church

According to the Diocese of Brownsville, the nun was intercepted by ICE agents while she was walking to Sunday Mass, dressed in her religious habit. During the procedure she was handcuffed and taken to an immigration detention center.

According to local media, the agents also took his Bible and rosary. From the detention center he managed to communicate with a priest, which triggered a rapid mobilization to ask for his release.

Community pressure accelerated his release

The news sparked an immediate reaction from the Catholic community in South Texas. The Bishop of Brownsville, Daniel Flores, described what happened as “deeply disturbing” and questioned the protocols that allowed a nun to be detained while she was peacefully walking to a religious celebration.

Sister Norma Pimentel, recognized for her work with migrants on the border, and Republican and Democratic congressmen, including Monica De La Cruz and Henry Cuellar, also participated in the efforts.

After about ten hours in custody, ICE authorized his release. However, the nun must appear again before the immigration authorities on July 28, while her immigration process continues.

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Doubts persist about the reason for the arrest

Until this Thursday, neither the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nor ICE had publicly explained why Sister Leticia was detained while on her way to church. The lack of information has generated criticism among religious leaders and defenders of immigrant rights, who consider that the case reflects the tightening of immigration control policies in the country.

In a message published after the release, Congresswoman Mónica De La Cruz stated that immigration actions should focus on people who represent a threat to public safety and not on a nun who was heading to mass. For his part, Bishop Flores asked to review the protocols to prevent similar situations from happening again.

The case has revived the debate about immigration operations near places of worship and about the impact that control measures can have on religious communities that work daily with migrants and vulnerable people.

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