Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a 56-year-old Nigerian-born nun and registered nurse with the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, was arrested by ICE agents on June 28, 2026, while walking to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas to distribute Holy Communion at Mass. Despite being a legal resident with valid immigration status, a valid work permit, and having worked as a registered nurse at local Texas hospitals for more than a decade, Ugboaja was detained and transferred to an ICE detention facility in Raymondville, where she was not allowed to access needed medication. In 2019, a federal judge had denied her asylum request but granted her protection from removal to Nigeria under the Convention Against Torture, finding she would likely be tortured if returned. After parish officials and colleague Sister Norma Pimentel contacted local leaders, including U.S. Representatives Monica De La Cruz and Henry Cuellar, Ugboaja was released from ICE custody the same day. She was distraught upon release, and the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville and civil rights organizations called for an investigation into the detention.