LAREDO, Tex. (KGNS) -U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar said Monday, July 27, that he expects a nun to face no deportation and no ankle monitor when she appears for a routine Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) check-in on Tuesday, July 28, in the Rio Grande Valley.
The nun, Sister Leticia Ugboaja, 56, was detained June 28 while walking to Sunday Mass in her habit at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, according to the Associated Press. Cuellar said he reached out to federal contacts in Washington after receiving reports that Ugboaja could be deported or placed on an ankle monitor at Tuesday’s appointment.
“My expectation after relaying my concerns is that there will be no deportation and there will be no ankle monitoring,” Cuellar said during a virtual press conference Monday. He added that Tuesday’s appointment should be uneventful. “It should be a routine check-in tomorrow after that,” he said.
Ugboaja, a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy and a registered nurse at South Texas Health System, spoke publicly for the first time about her detention at a July 23 news conference at Our Lady of Sorrows Church, the AP reported. “Honestly, in that moment, I did not understand what was going on, what was happening to me,” Ugboaja said, according to the AP.
Nun’s immigration history
Ugboaja’s attorney, Carlos M. Garcia, said an immigration judge in 2019 denied her application for asylum but granted her protection from removal to her native Nigeria because she likely would face torture there, the AP reported. Garcia said Ugboaja had complied with all requirements and had permission to work in the U.S.
When ICE detained Ugboaja in June, she was not given much explanation as to why she was taken into custody, her attorney said. The U.S. planned to remove her to a third country, he added, according to the AP. DHS and ICE did not respond to AP requests for comment on Ugboaja’s case.
Cuellar said Monday he plans to meet Wednesday with Ugboaja, her attorney, and the Diocese in the Valley. He said he expects her attorney to file a motion to reopen her immigration case.
Pastor and wife released after detention
Cuellar also said Nepthali Zozaya Saucedo and his wife, Cinthia Sarai Cardona Otero, pastors at a congregation in Edinburg, Texas, were detained while traveling to attend a retreat sponsored by the Billy Graham Association. A Laredo pastor contacted Cuellar about the case. Cuellar said he then contacted federal officials in Washington, and the two were processed and released within hours of Cuellar being notified.
“I contacted the right person in D.C. and I explained to them the situation,” Cuellar said. “I was then told that they were going to be released.”
DHS has alleged the couple overstayed their visas. Cuellar said the pastor had an R-1 religious worker visa history but that adjustment of status was pending. He said the couple’s attorneys and their church superintendent in McAllen would handle next steps. Cuellar said he was also trying to arrange a Wednesday meeting with the couple’s church superintendent.
Cuellar proposes ICE amendments, says Republicans rejected them
Cuellar, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, said he proposed several amendments during the recent fiscal 2027 markup that were rejected along party lines. The amendments sought to add safeguards to ICE operations, including requirements for judicial warrants, body-worn cameras, use-of-force standards, restrictions on enforcement at sensitive locations such as churches and schools, and oversight of detention centers.
One amendment — requiring ICE to prioritize enforcement resources on criminals — was included in the pending appropriations bill but has not yet become final. Cuellar said that language was in place under the Obama administration, was removed in 2017, and he has been attempting to restore it since.
ICE body camera deployment underway in Texas
Cuellar said a roundtable last week with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and ICE officials produced updates on body camera deployment. He said approximately 800 cameras have been delivered to the ICE office in Houston and that about 63% of cameras for the El Paso office have been delivered. He said he is awaiting updates on the Harlingen and San Antonio ICE offices.
Cuellar said ICE had cameras in storage prior to recent high-profile incidents in Minnesota, Houston, and other locations but had not deployed them. He said the agency has now begun deployment.
Construction site enforcement
Cuellar said ICE reduced enforcement actions at construction sites following a meeting he arranged in Washington between ICE officials, House Homeland Security Appropriations Chairman Mark Amodei, and members of the South Texas Builders Association. He said Mario Guerrero of the South Texas Builders Association received a call two days after the meeting indicating that ICE had been directed not to conduct construction site operations unless tied to a specific criminal enforcement activity. Cuellar said he plans to meet with Guerrero and the South Texas Builders Association on Wednesday, July 29.
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