A nun is back home after ICE picked her up mid-walk to Sunday Mass — habit and all — in McAllen, just miles from the border. Sister Leticia Ugboaja was detained outside Our Lady of Sorrows Church, and DHS and ICE have stayed silent on why ever since, ignoring requests for comment, The Associated Press reports.
It took a viral parish Facebook post and pressure from Congress — including Rep. Monica de la Cruz — before ICE let her go. Ugboaja belongs to the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and serves as a Eucharistic minister at the church, according to Diocese of Brownsville spokesperson Brenda Riojas.
Riojas also confirmed Ugboaja works as a registered nurse at South Texas Health System and spent a decade as a CNA at DHR Health in Edinburg before that — so on top of everything else, ICE detained a woman who's spent her career caring for sick people. That tracks.
South Texas members of Congress stepped in with federal officials, and by Monday she was back home.
“We are grateful for the quick response of local representatives who reached out to the Department of Homeland Security to get her released from custody,” Riojas said in her statement.
Via The AP:
President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — including at sensitive sites such as houses of worship — has prompted faith leaders to adjust their response to church members who have become too afraid to attend. Some have encouraged online attendance, while others have offered help doing errands such as grocery shopping for people too fearful to leave their homes
Rep. Monica de la Cruz is a MAGA-aligned Republican, so she voted for this insanity.
Following my advocacy to senior Administration officials, Sister Letty Ugboaja will be released. Please join me in praying for Sister Letty and the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy. https://t.co/TcPmbtRuuw
— Rep. Monica De La Cruz (@RepMonicaDLC) June 28, 2026
