ICE Detains A Texas Nun Walking to Mass

Sister Letty was walking to Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows when federal agents took her. Nearly nine in ten American dioceses depend on foreign-born clergy like her.

Sister Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja, in white, is welcomed after her release from ICE custody in the Rio Grande Valley on June 28, 2026. She was detained on her way to Sunday Mass and freed hours later after members of Congress from both parties intervened.

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On Sunday morning, a Catholic religious sister known to her parish as Sister Letty set out for Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows in McAllen, Texas. She never reached the pew. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained her on the way.

Sister Norma Pimentel — the executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and a widely respected figure in border ministry — confirmed the arrest. She said she had called ICE for information and gotten no answer. The Diocese of Brownsville said it was still trying to learn what had happened to one of its own.

Her parish asked only for prayers. “We pray for her safety, peace, and strength during this difficult time,” Our Lady of Sorrows wrote, “and we hope for a swift and just resolution that allows her to be released soon.”

The reaction crossed party lines, which is its own kind of evidence.

Here’s the backstory.