Sister Leticia 'Letty' Ugboaja, a 56-year-old Nigerian nun, described being detained by ICE on June 28 while walking to Mass in McAllen, Texas, saying she was frightened and surprised. She was released later that day after public outcry and intervention from Texas lawmakers. An immigration judge denied her asylum claim in 2019 but granted her protection from removal to Nigeria; her attorney says she has complied with all requirements. Ugboaja is due to report to ICE on July 28, and advocates are urging authorities not to detain her again.
Texas Nun Detained by ICE While Walking to Mass Speaks Out, Urges Fair Treatment for Immigrants
After the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal immigration agents (ICE), communities across the U.S. areprotestingagainst Trump's surge of immigration enforcement actions.Pictured here, Demonstrators gather for a protest calling for the removal of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Jan. 30, 2026 in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Protests were held across the United States in response to ICE enforcement activity.(Tom Brenner, Getty Images)
Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja, a 56-year-old nun from Nigeria, has spoken publicly for the first time about being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as she walked to Sunday Mass in McAllen, Texas. At a July 23 news conference, Ugboaja described the June 28 encounter and said she continues to live with fear and uncertainty despite being released the same day.
What Happened
Ugboaja told reporters that two armed federal agents stopped her while she was on her way to Our Lady of Sorrows Church, where she had been scheduled to serve as a eucharistic minister. 'I was very much afraid, with cold sweat,' she said. 'I did not expect on an ordinary Sunday morning when people should be ready to go to Mass to worship the Lord' that she would be taken into custody.
She was released later that day after public outcry and intervention from members of Texas' congressional delegation. Lawmakers from both parties — including Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R) and Reps. Henry Cuellar, Vicente Gonzalez and Joaquin Castro (D) — questioned why a nun in religious habit would be detained while attending church.
Legal Status And Concerns
Ugboaja's attorney, Carlos M. Garcia, said an immigration judge denied her asylum claim in 2019 but granted her protection from removal to Nigeria after concluding she would more likely than not face torture if returned. That protection, Garcia said, bars the U.S. government from deporting her to Nigeria, though she remains under a final order of removal because the asylum claim itself was denied. Garcia added that she has complied with all conditions of her immigration status since the ruling, including maintaining employment authorization and attending required appointments.
According to Garcia, ICE offered little explanation for the June detention and at one point attempted to remove her to a third country. Over the past year, the federal government has expanded the practice of sending migrants to countries where they have no ties — a move critics say can outsource detention to governments with weak oversight and unclear legal protections.
'There are many others in this same situation, people who have been given some form of protection under our laws, who have followed every rule asked of them, and who still live with uncertainty,' Ugboaja said at the news conference.
Community Reaction And Next Steps
The detention quickly drew local and national attention. Church leaders, immigrant-rights advocates and civil-rights groups called for accountability. Daniel E. Flores, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, described Ugboaja as a 'well-known source of goodness and hope' in the community. The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) launched a petition calling for an immediate investigation into her detention.
Ugboaja is a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy congregation, headquartered in Nigeria. She volunteers as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows Church and works as a registered nurse at South Texas Health System's McAllen Medical Center. Before that, she spent a decade as a certified nursing assistant at DHR Health in Edinburg, Texas.
Her lawyer said Ugboaja is scheduled to report to ICE on July 28 and urged authorities not to detain her again or require electronic monitoring. USA TODAY has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment.
Broader Context
Ugboaja's case comes amid broader protests and criticism of increased immigration enforcement following high-profile incidents, including the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good by federal immigration agents. Demonstrations in multiple U.S. cities have underscored rising community concern about enforcement tactics and due-process protections for migrants.
Savannah Gritter, 12, holds signs during the "ICE Out Everywhere" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 31, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.(GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST)
A federal agent goes to clear a makeshift shield a protester placed over a gas canister during an anti-ICE protest at the Eugene Federal Building on Jan. 30, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon.(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard via USA TODAY Network)
Hundreds of people gather to protest ICE at the corner of Palafox and Garden Streets in downtown Pensacola, Florida, on Jan. 30, 2026.(Gregg Pachkowski, Pensacola News Journal via USA TODAY Network)
In an aerial view, demonstrators spell out an SOS signal of distress on a frozen Lake BdeMaka Ska on Jan. 30, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Protesters marched through downtown to protest the deaths of Renee Good on January 7, and Alex Pretti on January 24 by federal immigration agents.(John Moore, Getty Images)
Protesters chant as they march down University Avenue during a Party for Socialism & Liberation–sponsored anti‑ICE demonstration in downtown Gainesville, Fla., on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. The march began at Southwest 13th Street and University Avenue and ended at Bo Diddley Plaza, where participants protested ICE and recent killings in Minnesota.(Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun)
A protestor is shoved by a federal agent after getting face-to-face with the agent, who stood among a line of agents blocking off the federal detention center in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.(Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
People hold signs along PGA Blvd., and Military Trail during the "ICE Out Everywhere" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 31, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.(GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST)
Demonstrators march down Walnut Street as Cincinnati Police officers clear traffic during an ICE Out! rally in downtown Cincinnati on Jan. 30, 2026.(Sam Greene, The Enquirer via USA TODAY Network)
Protestors clash with police during a "National Shutdown" protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine.(PATRICK T. FALLON, AFP via Getty Images)
Penn High School students participate in a walkout protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Mishawaka, Indiana.(MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE)
People hold signs along PGA Blvd., and Military Trail during the "ICE Out Everywhere" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on January 31, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.(GREG LOVETT/PALM BEACH POST)
Federal agents drive out protesters from the grounds of the Eugene Federal Building on Jan. 30, 2026, in Eugene, Oregon.(Ben Lonergan, The Register-Guard via USA TODAY Network)
Protesters gather at City Hall in response to recent actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly referred to as "ICE," and the presence of Flock cameras in the community and Indiana University campus, in Bloomington, Indiana, on Jan. 30, 2026.(Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times)
People partake in a "National Shutdown" protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine.(FREDERIC J. BROWN, AFP via Getty Images)
A Penn High School student confronts a man in a car line at the school who was shouting, "Let's go ICE!" as students were marching past during a walkout protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026, in Mishawaka, Indiana.(MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE)
People partake in a "National Shutdown" protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Boston, Massachusetts on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine.(JOSEPH PREZIOSO, AFP via Getty Images)
People hold a photo of Alex Pretti, who was shot dead by federal agents, during a protest in Minneapolis on Jan. 30, 2026.(Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
People hold a photo of Renee Good, who was shot dead by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, during a "National Shutdown" protest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine.(ROBERTO SCHMIDT, AFP via Getty Images)
Protestors clash with police during a "National Shutdown" protest against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Los Angeles on Jan. 30, 2026. Donald Trump's border chief said Jan. 29, 2026 that some federal agents could be withdrawn from Minneapolis, the northern US city that has become the flashpoint for the president's immigration crackdown. The Trump administration, facing a public backlash over the shooting deaths of two Americans by federal agents in Minneapolis, also eased immigration operations in the northeastern state of Maine.(PATRICK T. FALLON, AFP via Getty Images)
Students walked out or skipped school to join others in the student-led ICE Out protest in downtown Knoxville, Tenn., on Jan. 30, 2026.(Brianna Paciorka, News Sentinel via USA TODAY Network)
A protestor reacts to being hit by tactical gas used by federal agents in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.(Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
LAPD officers attempt to clear protestors during 'National Shutdown" anti-ICE protests on Jan. 30, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Across the country, thousands participated in similar protests as the nation continues to react to events in Minneapolis, where two people were killed in confrontations with ICE and other government immigration agents.(Mario Tama, Getty Images)
Thousands of protestors begin to march away from city hall in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.(Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Demonstrators gather in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse during an ICE Out! rally in downtown Cincinnati on Jan. 30, 2026.(Sam Greene, The Enquirer via USA TODAY Network)
Hacks actress Megan Stalter holds up a protest sign outside of city hall in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.(Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Protesters gather at the Rhode Island State House on Jan. 30, 2026 as part of the nationwide 'ICE Out' national strike.(Savana Dunning/The Providence Journal)
People protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies outside the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, California, Jan. 30, 2026.(Jill Connelly, Reuters)
A demonstrator reacts in front of Los Angeles Police Department officers standing guard during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies, near the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, Jan. 30, 2026.(Jill Connelly, Reuters)
A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter circles the area over protestors outside of the federal detention center in Los Angeles, Calif., Friday, Jan. 30, 2026.(Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun)
Demonstrators gesture towards Los Angeles Police Department officers approaching them during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration policies, near the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Los Angeles, Jan. 30, 2026.(Jill Connelly, Reuters)
People march down the road during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S, President Donald Trump's immigration policies outside the CoreCivic ICE detention center in Houston, Texas, Jan. 30, 2026.(Antranik Tavitian, Reuters)
Protesters gather at City Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, on Jan. 30, 2026, in response to recent immigration enforcement actions by the government.(MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE)
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