A Catholic religious sister was detained last Sunday by agents of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while walking to church to attend Holy Mass in McAllen, a city in the state of Texas located along the border with Mexico. The religious sister was released that same night, after several interventions by political representatives and local authorities.
According to EWTN News, the sister in question is Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a member of the congregation Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy. In addition to her religious work, she works as a nurse at the South Texas Health System and serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at Our Lady of Sorrows parish, where she was going to participate in the Sunday celebration when she was intercepted by federal agents on June 28.
The news was initially spread by the parish itself and led to the intervention of several members of the United States Congress, including Monica de la Cruz and Henry Cuellar. The latter confirmed that his office contacted officials from the Department of Homeland Security to request the release of the religious sister, who finally returned to her home that same Sunday.
The diocese demands explanations
The Diocese of Brownsville thanked the swift response of the authorities that allowed the release of Sister Leticia, although it noted that it continues to gather information to understand the circumstances that led to her detention.
While she was in custody, in a statement, the Bishop of Brownsville, Bishop Daniel Flores, said that the religious sister “is a very well-known source of goodness and hope in our community” and expressed his satisfaction at her prompt release.
The prelate added, however, that there are still “many questions” about what happened and considered it concerning that current protocols allow “a religious sister, or any person, to be detained and handcuffed while walking peacefully to church on a Sunday morning.” In his view, those procedures should be reviewed.
To date, the Department of Homeland Security has not publicly explained the specific reasons that led to the detention of Sister Leticia Ugboaja.