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

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.

Associated Press writer Jamie Stengle contributed to this report.

Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja attends a news conference at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez)

Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja, left, accompanied by Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley Sister Norma Pimentel at a news conference at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez)

Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja speaks during a news conference at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez)

Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja at a news conference at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church on Thursday, July 23, 2026, in McAllen, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Gonzalez)

Tropical Storm Bertha churned toward a second landfall in Texas on Thursday after grazing southern Louisiana in a slow crawl that triggered heavy surf and some flooding along the Gulf Coast but kept the heaviest rains offshore.

Bertha was located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Galveston, Texas, late Thursday morning as it crept westward, the National Hurricane Center said. Still packing sustained winds of 45 mph (72 kph), it was expected to remain a tropical storm until moving onshore later in the day.

No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. The storm triggered some coastal flooding as its center first struck land Wednesday in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, but its heaviest rains stayed over the Gulf waters.

A tropical storm warning remained in effect Thursday along the Gulf Coast from Morgan City, Louisiana, to Sargent, Texas. The hurricane center said Bertha could still cause up to 2 feet (0.6 meters) of storm surge along the coast and trigger isolated flash flooding from heavy rains in coastal and south Texas.

Tropical storm force winds on Thursday extended as far as 160 miles (260 kilometers) from the storm’s center, the hurricane center said. Still, forecasters expected the storm to weaken rapidly after moving onshore and dissipate over inland Texas by Friday.

In Galveston, local officials urged residents to brace for a “windy day” and secure any outdoor objects that might become airborne projectiles.

“While no significant impacts are forecast, some gusty storms may blow through the island throughout the day," Galveston's Office of Emergency Management said in a Facebook post Thursday.

As the storm approached Louisiana on Wednesday, children splashed in the floodwaters as onlookers watched the surge at the Lake Pontchartrain estuary. Residents mowed their lawns even as streets filled up with water.

Strong gales earlier in the week knocked over a Waffle House sign onto a car in Panama City Beach, Florida. Heavy surf and the threat of rip tides had prompted warnings at Gulf Coast beaches for swimmers to stay out of the water.

Bertha is the second tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Tropical Storm Arthur in June brought heavy rainfall to the southeastern U.S.

In the eastern Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Fausto churned far from land Thursday. The hurricane was more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph).

The hurricane center said swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California.

Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.

This NOAA satellite image taken at 11:40 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, shows Tropical Storm Bertha in the Gulf of Mexico moving toward the edge of Louisiana. (NOAA via AP)

Children play near breaking waves on West End Pier on Lake Pontchartrain as Tropical Storm Bertha approaches the Louisiana Coast Wednesday, July 22, 2026, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)