Kentucky State University women's basketball player Aminata Seck has been released from ICE custody after two months. A judge approved a $2,500 bond at a Tuesday hearing, and it was posted Wednesday once ICE chose not to appeal, according to her attorney, Hishem Alsalman of Alsalman Law Office, as reported by The Guardian.
Separately, CBS Sports reported that Mississippi Valley State University men's player Qingfang Pang is now in ICE custody, putting a second college basketball player's immigration case in the spotlight.
What the judge decided for Seck
Alsalman said the judge found Seck was neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk. He added that the judge ruled she may keep working toward her degree and spoke warmly of her academic and athletic accomplishments.
Seck, 26, was detained Aug. 7 at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport as she prepared to fly with her team to a tournament. The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in an earlier statement that she entered the country legally in 2019 and then overstayed. It said an immigration judge ordered her removal a year earlier after she missed a hearing. Alsalman has said that an immigration judge found she was never notified of those earlier proceedings. The two accounts differ, and the sources do not resolve them.
On the court, Seck made the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference all-conference third team last season. The 6-foot-4 center led her team in both scoring and rebounding, at 11.7 points and 7.3 boards a night, with five double-doubles and a season-high 30 against Lane College. She also won the conference's Women's Basketball Elite 16 award, its top academic honor.
Pang's case
Pang transferred to Mississippi Valley State from Monroe University this offseason. Per the ICE database, cited by CBS Sports, he is held at the Richwood Correctional Center. WJTV first reported the detention, saying he was taken into custody Sept. 29 for overstaying his visa.
His attorney, Marcus Session, told WJTV that Pang was traveling to meet a sponsor, a family friend, to sort out the visa problem when he was detained. "He wants to play college basketball," Session said.
Pang appeared in 31 games for Monroe in 2025-26, averaging 8.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists. The Delta Devils open their 2026-27 season Nov. 6 on the road against Oklahoma.
Why it matters
The two cases are separate, with different circumstances and different stages. Seck's release lets her pursue her degree again, per her attorney's account of the ruling. Pang's situation is still unresolved, and the sources give no hearing date or outcome.
Reporting sources: Sport | The Guardian, “Kentucky State basketball player released after two months in ICE custody” · CBS Sports Headlines, “Mississippi Valley State basketball player Qingfang Pang detained by ICE over visa issue”.
