Remember me
In late June 2026, ICE detained a Catholic nun, Sister Letty, while she was on her way to Sunday mass in McAllen, Texas.
Rating:ICE has since released her.
In June 2026, a rumor circulated online that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained a nun who was on her way to Sunday Mass in Texas.
One popular post (archived), which named her as Sister Letty and claimed she was later released, began by saying:
ICE just detained a Catholic nun on her way to Sunday Mass in McAllen. Her crime: driving to church. Her name is Sister Letty, and her parish spent the day begging anyone with ICE for a phone call back.
Sister Norma Pimentel, who runs Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley and is one of the most respected humanitarian figures on the entire border, confirmed it: Sister Letty was picked up Sunday morning while driving to Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
Then came the part that tells you everything. Sister Norma said she called ICE to find out what was happening to one of her own sisters. They never called her back.
So the parish did the only thing it could. Our Lady of Sorrows posted to its parish family and asked them to pray for Sister Letty by name, because nobody could tell them where she was or when she'd be out.
Other examples of the rumor appeared on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Reddit (archived). Numerous Snopes readers also searched our site questioning the veracity of the story.
In short, the church and local members of Congress said the nun had been detained and added that she had been released. Therefore, we've rated this claim true.
On Sunday, June 28, shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time, Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, Texas, posted to Facebook (archived) that, "reports indicate that [Sister Letty] was detained by ICE while on her way to Sunday Mass." McAllen is located along the U.S.-Mexico border and is a part of southern Texas' Rio Grande Valley.
The directory for the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, which Our Lady of Sorrows parish is a part of, lists Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja among its sisters (PDF Page 4). In an emailed statement, the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville said ICE detained Ugboaja on June 28, "as she was walking to Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen to attend Sunday Mass."
Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz, who represents a district that includes McAllen, posted to Facebook (archived) on June 28 that she was working with the Department of Homeland Security to "resolve Sister Letty's detainment as quickly as possible." Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, whose district also includes a part of McAllen, posted (archived) to Facebook around the same time saying he was in touch with church officials over Ugboaja's detainment.
About an hour later, De La Cruz and Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, who represents a neighboring district in the Rio Grande Valley, both posted to Facebook (archived) and to X (archived) to say they had each talked to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and that Ugboaja was being released and sent home.
Snopes contacted DHS via email to confirm details of the story. We will update this article if we receive a reply.
