South Texas Nun Detained by ICE Faces Uncertain Future in U.S.
The South Texas nun who was detained by immigration officers last month spoke publicly for the first time since the incident and as her future in the country remains in limbo.
Sister Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja, a 56-year-old nun from Nigeria, was walking the short distance from her home to Our Lady of Sorrows to distribute the Holy Communion at Mass when she was stopped by two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on June 28.
“Even when I told them, ‘Can I go to Mass; can I just attend Mass; can I receive communion,’ the answer was ‘No,’” Ugboaja said.
ICE released Ugboaja later that day, but she now faces a check-in appointment with immigration officials on July 28.
Her attorney, Carlos M. Garcia, said they hope the check-in is determined to be unnecessary and that Ugboaja will not have to report to ICE, after all. If she does, officials could decide to detain her again or place an ankle monitor on her.
“We are asking that she not be detained and that no ankle monitor be placed on a person who has broken no rule, posed no danger, and given this country a decade of nursing and a lifetime of ministry,” Garcia said.
Ugboaja has lived in South Texas and worked as a registered nurse at various hospitals in the area for more than a decade.
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After news of her detention broke, federal U.S. lawmakers who represent the Rio Grande Valley denounced her arrest and said they would try to intervene to secure her release.
In 2019, a judge denied her request for asylum but simultaneously granted her protection from removal to Nigeria under the United Nations Convention Against Torture based on the finding that it was more likely than not that she would be tortured if she returned there.
But because her asylum claim was denied, Ugboaja is technically under a final order of removal, Garcia said.
He added that Ugboaja has done everything asked of her since that 2019 order, including holding a valid work permit, complying with every condition of the protection order, and attending every mandatory appointment with immigration officials.
In detaining her last month, officials sought to deport her not to Nigeria, but to a third country, Garcia said.
The practice of third-country removals have been used under President Donald Trump’s second term to shore up deportations of people who could not legally be deported to their home countries because of the likelihood they would be persecuted there.
Ugboaja said she did not want to remain silent about her situation and wants people in similar situations to have the opportunity to tell their story before they’re taken from their homes.
“I believe every person in this situation, like me, deserves to be heard, deserves to be listened to, deserves to be given attention and opportunity,” she said.
Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
Berenice Garcia is a regional reporter covering the Rio Grande Valley. She works at the Tribune as a corps members with Report for America.
