56岁的修女Sister Leticia Ugboaja于2024年6月28日在德州McAllen教堂附近行走前往弥撒时被美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）拘留[1]。她在被拘留数小时后获释，并在随后的新闻发布会上首次公开讲述了这一经历[1]。
Ugboaja是South Texas Health System的注册护士，曾在Edinburg担任认证护理助理10年[1]。她于2019年向移民法官申请庇护，虽然申请被否决，但法官批准了她免于遣返至尼日利亚的保护身份，因为她在那里可能面临刑讯逼供[1]。她的律师Carlos M. Garcia表示，她一直遵守所有要求，并有周二与ICE的登记预约[1]。
在被拘留时，Ugboaja未获得充分的解释[1]。她在周四的发言中为被拘留者争取听证权进行呼吁[2]，并表示自己发声是为了帮助其他处于类似困境的人士[1][2]。
川普政府的第三国遣返政策因该案件而面临律师和人权组织的批评[1]。
Sister Leticia Ugboaja, a 56-year-old nun and registered nurse, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on June 28, 2024, while walking to Mass near a church in McAllen, Texas. [1] She was released within hours of her arrest. [1]
At the time of her detention, she was wearing her religious habit and had not been given adequate explanation for why she was being apprehended. [1] Ugboaja holds a protected status that shields her from deportation to Nigeria, where she faces potential torture. [1] An immigration judge denied her asylum application in 2019 but approved her protection from return to Nigeria. [1]
Ugboaja has worked as a registered nurse with South Texas Health System and previously served as a certified nursing assistant in Edinburg for ten years. [1] She had a scheduled registration appointment with ICE on Tuesday at the time of her detention. [1] Her attorney, Carlos M. Garcia, stated that she has complied with all requirements. [1]
Speaking publicly about her experience for the first time, Ugboaja called for detained individuals to receive fair hearing opportunities before deportation proceedings. [2] She emphasized that many others find themselves in similar circumstances and spoke to draw attention to their situations. [2]
The detention has drawn criticism from lawyers and human rights organizations regarding the Trump administration's third-country deportation policies. [1]