Aminata Seck, a Senegalese women's basketball player at Kentucky State University, has been released from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after two months. A judge granted her a $2,500 bond at a hearing on Tuesday, and the bond was posted on Wednesday after ICE declined to appeal, according to Hishem Alsalman, managing attorney of Alsalman Law Office.
Seck, 26, from Dakar, was detained on 7 August at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport as she prepared to travel with her team to a tournament. The judge found she was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk and allowed her to continue working toward her degree, praising her academic and athletic record. Last season she led Kentucky State with 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, earned Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) all-conference third team honours and received the SIAC Women's Basketball Elite 16 academic award.
Meanwhile, Mississippi Valley State University confirmed concern for men's player Qingfang Pang, a 6ft 9in forward from China. Pang, who previously spent two seasons at Monroe University in New York and averaged 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds there, has been detained at the Richwood Correctional Facility in Louisiana since 29 September.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Pang entered the US legally on 17 November 2023 with authorisation to remain until 5 September 2024, but stayed beyond that date. The spokesperson added that he had accepted voluntary departure and would remain in ICE custody pending removal.
