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A nun from the Rio Grande Valley who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend has been released.
Sister Letty Ugboaja of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen was reportedly detained by ICE while on her way to Sunday Mass. Ugboaja is part of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy congregation.
The church brought attention to Sister Letty’s detainment in a social media post Sunday afternoon.
South Texas lawmakers Monica De La Cruz and Henry Cuellar said on social media that Sister Letty was released Sunday afternoon after the lawmakers worked with Department of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to secure her release.
Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of McAllen criticized what he called the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.
“(These policies) have now led to the targeting of nuns on their way to Sunday Mass,” he said in a Facebook post. “It’s a far cry of the criminals they said they would detain and deport.”
The League of United Latin American Citizens — the nation's oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization — is demanding a full account as to why Sister Letty was detained and what safeguards will be put in place to prevent similar incidents.
“Her release does not erase the fact that she should have never been detained in the first place,” LULAC said in a statement.
