U.S.-based Nigerian Roman Catholic nun and nurse, Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja, arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in June while on the way to church has said she is still traumatised by the ordeal.

The Peoples Gazette had earlier reported that Ms Ugboaja was on the way to her parish, the Lady of Sorrows Church, to attend a Sunday mass late June in South Texas, near the U.S.-Mexico border when she was detained by officers who eventually took her into custody. 

The incident incident gained traction after the church published a statement about the case, drawing the attention of the U.S. House of Representatives members from Texas, which included Democrat Henry Cuellar and Republican Monica De La Cruz, who intervened in the matter.

Ms Ugboaja, who migrated to the United States of America from Nigeria, was subsequently released later that day due to public pressure and direct appeal by Ms De La Cruz to President Donald Trump’s administration to release her. 

However, Ms Ugboaja is now required to report regularly to ICE officials, with her next check-in scheduled for July 28. Ahead of the appointment, the nun has broken her silence, speaking publicly about the ordeal for the first time.

She recalled that she was arrested by armed male ICE officers despite being, in her words, a harmless “small woman.” The nun added that the experience had left her deeply hurt.

“I was walking to mass as I do every Sunday and of course everyday by ICE. I didn’t do anything else when I had two men, armed. I am just a small woman, a nun, harmless, just with my rosary, my key and my phone. I will not pretend, it did hurt and it is still hurting me up till today,” Ms Ugboaja said. 

Speaking further, Ms Ugboaja appealed to the Trump administration to ensure that individuals arrested by ICE during its nationwide immigration crackdown are given the opportunity to have their cases heard.

“What I am asking is simple — before anyone is being taken into custody or taken anywhere from home, from their parishes, from their places of work, or even walking on the streets — give them the chance and opportunity so that they can be heard. 

“It is not just a simple request but it is because I believe every person in this situation like me deserves to be heard, listened to, given attention and opportunity to have another chance to say what they have,” she added. 

Meanwhile, Ms Ugboaja’s lawyer, Carlos Garcia, said they hope that she wouldn’t be detained during the appointment or place on an ankle monitor. 

“We are asking that she should not be detained and that no ankle monitor be placed on a person who has broken no rule, posed no danger, and given this country a decade of nursing and a lifetime of ministry,” the lawyer said.