ICE agents, up to their old habits (pun intended), make an ungodly arrest only Lucifer could love
News and commentary about the state of our sacred democracy
By J.C. Bruce
Today we pause to offer prayers of relief that a demonic arrest by ICE agents in a small South Texas town didn’t turn out to be an unholy disaster, the kind of tragedy only Beelzebub could love.
That this darker turn of events was avoided came no thanks to the six members of the U.S. Supreme Court, wrapped in their judicial vestments, who approved an “emergency” measure allowing federal agents to use racial profiling to arrest trespassers.
Racial profiling, as in characteristics of a person such as race and ethnicity, their language, how they dress, or even where they work.
And that’s just what ICE agents did.
In McAllen, Texas, alert immigration officers spotted an unusually attired woman and swiftly intervened. The agents suspected she could be a threat not only because of her clothes, but also the color of her skin and her job.
Arrested and thrown in jail was this woman:
Her name is Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja.
Actually, make that: Sister Leticia “Letty” Ugboaja. Her job: She’s a nun. And she was walking to Sunday mass at Our Lady of Sorrows church when immigration officers pounced and disarmed her of her dangerous rosary, then restrained her in handcuffs before she could raise her hands in supplication.
Turns out, despite what those federales might have thought, she didn’t just slip across the border with all the “murderers and rapists” Donald Trump frets about. No, the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, said Sister Letty is part of the Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy, a congregation headquartered in Nigeria, who has worked tirelessly for more than a decade in Texas hospitals.
Apparently, Nigeria hasn’t suffered the same cutbacks in its foreign-aid budget that Trump has imposed on America’s, and it is still able to send assistance to nations like ours with abysmal records of tending to the needs of the poor.
Sister Letty is out of jail now, thanks to the holy hell raised by just about everybody who heard about this.
Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican, joined Democrats in the predominantly Mexican American region in calling for the release of immigrants with deep ties to their local communities and no criminal record, the Washington Post reports.
“As I have repeatedly said, our immigration enforcement should target violent criminals. A Catholic nun on her way to church is not a threat to our community.”
That sentiment was echoed by Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar:
“If the administration said they closed the border and are deporting criminals and stopped there, it would’ve been welcome news. But they didn’t stop there. They started going after people on the streets, and that part — the overreach by ICE — is turning Hispanics back to other candidates, to Democrats honestly.”
I suppose we should give prayers of gratitude they didn’t just shoot poor Sister Letty. So far this year, at least 20 people have died while in ICE custody. Thankfully, not this time.
Let us pray this ends soon.
Amen.
Related:
Mourning Those Who Have Died in ICE Custody
In Latest Unsigned Order, SCOTUS Blesses Trump’s Use of Racial Profiling in Immigration Arrests
J.C. Bruce is the founder of Tropic Press. He’s an award-winning journalist and author who holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. He is also an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church.
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"Our SACRED Democracy."
Since Trump got elected life in America and our constitutional rights has been been under siege! I cannot stomach this child who dresses up in man’s clothing and surrounds himself with his little playmates. There is more greed and corruption in Trump, his cabinet, and the GOP than ever in USA history! It is sad all this runs on through our 250th birthday! I am in no mood to celebrate!