A Kentucky State University women’s basketball player from Senegal who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been released after spending two months in custody.
At a hearing on Tuesday, a judge granted Aminata Seck a $2,500 bond, which was posted on Wednesday after ICE declined to appeal, according to Hishem Alsalman, managing attorney of Alsalman Law Office.
Meanwhile, a men’s basketball player from Mississippi Valley State University has been taken into ICE custody. Qingfang Pang, who is from China, was detained on 29 September and is being held at the Richwood Correctional Facility in Richwood, Louisiana, according to ICE’s detainee database.
“Mississippi Valley State University is aware of the situation involving one of our students and is deeply concerned for the student’s well-being,” the school said in a statement. “The student is registered as a full-time student at Mississippi Valley State University. University officials are closely monitoring the situation and are committed to providing appropriate support as circumstances develop.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said in an email that Pang entered the US legally on 17 November 2023, with authorization to remain until 5 September 2024, but stayed beyond that date.
“He accepted voluntary departure and will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” the spokesperson said. “This administration will not ignore the rule of law.”
Pang spent the past two seasons at Monroe University in New York before transferring to Mississippi Valley State. The 6ft 9in forward averaged 7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game at Monroe.
In Seck’s case, the judge found that she was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk, Alsalman said on Thursday. The judge also ruled that she could continue working toward her degree and praised her academic and athletic achievements.
Seck, 26, was detained on 7 August at Louisville’s Muhammad Ali International Airport as she prepared to travel with her team to a tournament.
DHS previously said in a statement that Seck legally entered the US in 2019, then “chose to overstay her welcome in violation of our nation’s laws”. The agency said an immigration judge had ordered her removed a year earlier after she failed to appear at an immigration hearing.
Alsalman previously said an immigration judge had found that Seck did not receive notice of those proceedings.
Seck, who is from Dakar, Senegal’s capital, was named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) all-conference third team last season after leading Kentucky State with 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
The 6ft 4in center recorded five double-doubles and scored a season-high 30 points against Lane College on 14 January.
Seck also received the SIAC Women’s Basketball Elite 16 award, the conference’s highest academic honor, which recognizes student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary achievement in both athletics and the classroom.