The South Texas nun who was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement agents while walking to Sunday Mass will likely not face immediate deportation or be forced to wear an ankle monitor after appearing for a scheduled ICE check-in on Tuesday morning. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, announced the news during a closed call with the press on Monday, July 27.Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja, 56, was detained on June 28 while walking to Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen, in the Rio Grande Valley. Wearing her full "religious garb," as Cuellar put it, Ugboaja had been walking to the Catholic church, where she was expected to serve as a eucharistic minister during the 8:45 a.m. Mass. Instead, ICE agents took her to a McAllen detention center. Swift public outrage led to her release later that night, and she was expected to appear for a check-in at an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) office at 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning."My expectation, after relaying my concerns, is that there will be no deportation, and there will be no ankle monitor, and it should be a routine… check-in tomorrow," Cuellar told members of the press during Monday's Zoom call.Who is Sister Letty, the South Texas nun detained by ICE?Sister Letty is a member of the Daughters of Mary Mother Mercy, an order of nuns that was founded in Nigeria, where she was born. She has lived in the Valley for more than a decade, where she has worked as a nurse in addition to her religious devotions. According to the Diocese of Brownsville, Sister Letty spent 10 years as a certified nursing assistant at DHR Health, the Valley's largest hospital, and has since worked as a registered nurse at South Texas Health System – McAllen.What is Sister Letty's immigration status?Sister Letty is under a final order of removal from the United States after her asylum claim was denied by an immigration judge in 2019, according to the Texas Tribune. However, the judge ruled that she cannot be deported to Nigeria after finding that it was "highly likely" she would face torture there, her attorney, Carlos M. Garcia, said during a news conference on July 23. She has maintained a work authorization as her immigration case has remained pending, Garcia said.Sister Leticia "Letty" Ugboaja was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in McAllen (Courtesy photo)Why did ICE detain Sister Letty while she was walking to Mass?Garcia said ICE apprehended the nun as part of an effort to "remove her," or deport her to a third country - an immigration enforcement tactic that is currently the subject of multiple lawsuits, he said. He added that immigration officials had given the nun no advance notice that they would be pursuing "a separate legal pathway" to deport her.Sister Letty reiterated that in her own comments, recounting her fear and confusion as two armed agents approached her that morning."Honestly, in that moment, I did not understand what was going on, what was happening to me, because I was busy reflecting on the readings of the Mass that very day," Ugboaja said.She broke out in a "cold sweat" while holding nothing more than her phone, her keys and a rosary, and said she felt heartbroken when she asked if she could first attend Mass and receive communion, but was told 'no."The diocese was quick to condemn Ugboaja's detention, with the Most Rev. Daniel E. Flores calling it "wildly disturbing" for a nun to be arrested and handcuffed "while peacefully walking to Church on a Sunday morning."Will Sister Letty be deported?On Monday, Cuellar said that, after speaking "to the appropriate folks," he did not expect the Catholic nun to be deported, or to be ordered to wear an ankle monitor. He further criticized Sister Letty's detention as ICE pursuing "low-hanging fruit."Sign up for Afternoon Headlines, MySA's free newsletter bringing you San Antonio's top stories of the day.This article originally published at What happens next for Sister Letty, the South Texas nun detained by ICE?.