Senegalese basketball player Aminata Seck, 26, has been granted a $2,500 bail by an immigration judge, two months after her arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Louisville Airport in Kentucky. The decision was issued on Tuesday, October 6, according to her lawyer Sadiqa Reynolds.
Standing 1.93 m and originally from Dakar, Seck plays for Kentucky State University. She was arrested on August 7 while travelling with her team to a tournament in New York, and was later transferred between detention centres in Kentucky and Illinois.
On September 30, an immigration judge agreed to reopen her case and cancel the deportation order. Her lawyer Hishem Alsalman said the judge found she had not received notice of a missed hearing. A new hearing is scheduled for November 26. The Department of Homeland Security said Seck entered the US legally in 2019, overstayed, and was ordered deported after a hearing she did not attend. Reynolds argued she missed a student visa deadline while recovering from back surgery.
Seck, who is suffering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, was wearing a brace at the time of her arrest, according to DHS, which said she was taken to hospital for knee pain. Her lawyers say she suffered seizures in detention and had surgery scheduled before her arrest. The Senegalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it is following the case and providing consular assistance. Kentucky State University declined to comment. Seck was selected for the third All-Conference team of her conference last season.
