ICE detains Catholic nun en route to Mass in Texas

A Catholic nun who has served as a nurse in South Texas for roughly a decade was detained by federal immigration agents last month while walking to Sunday Mass, an incident that has drawn bipartisan criticism and highlighted a contentious policy of removing migrants to third countries. Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a 56-year-old Nigerian-born member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, was stopped by two armed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on June 28 as she walked from her home to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen.

Ugboaja described the encounter at a news conference on Thursday, July 23, saying she went into a cold sweat as the officers approached. She said she begged them to let her attend Mass and receive Holy Communion but was told she could not. Officers handcuffed her, confiscated her rosary, and transferred her to an ICE facility in Raymondville, where she was reportedly denied needed medication. She was released several hours later after South Texas lawmakers from both parties intervened with the Department of Homeland Security.

Her attorney, Carlos M. Garcia, explained the complex legal background of her case. In 2019, an immigration judge denied...