Nun who was detained by ICE while walking to Mass in Texas says many are in her situation

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McALLEN, Texas (AP) — A nun who was taken into immigration custody after being arrested while walking to Mass in her habit last month in Texas pleaded Thursday for people to have the chance to be heard before being taken into custody, saying she was speaking out to help others.

“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,” Sister Leticia Ugboaja, who is from Nigeria, said at a news conference.

Ugboaja was released several hours after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on June 28 while walking to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Parish officials posting on social media brought attention to Ugboaja’s arrest, and Congress members ultimately intervened on the nun’s behalf.

Her attorney, Carlos Garcia, said Thursday that in 2019 an immigration judge denied her application for asylum but also granted her protection from removal because she was likely to face torture in Nigeria. Garcia said Ugboaja has complied with everything required of her and had permission to work in the U.S.

When ICE detained Ugboaja in June, she wasn't given much explanation as to why she was taken into custody but that the U.S. planned to remove her to a third country, Garcia said.

Lawyers and human rights groups have criticized the Trump administration’s third-country removal policy, which has faced legal challenges.

The Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond to a request to comment on Ugboaja's case on Thursday and did not respond to requests for comment after her detention in June.

Ugboaja has a check-in with ICE set for next week, her lawyer noted.

Ugboaja is part of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and volunteered as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Brownsville has said. Ugboaja is also a registered nurse at South Texas Health System and worked previously for 10 years as a certified nursing assistant in Edinburg, the spokesperson said.

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.

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Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle contributed to this report.