College Basketball Player Has Been in ICE Custody for Weeks
Aminata Seck is in ICE custody after being detained at an airport.
Kentucky State University women's basketball player Aminata Seck has been held in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for several weeks, despite her attorney claiming she never received proper notification of an immigration hearing. According to ICE, Seck missed her hearing and was given a final removal order back in September 2025. However, Seck's legal representative, Hishem Alsalman, maintains that his client was never made aware of the hearing or the removal order.
Seck, a 6-4 center from Dakar, Senegal, was apprehended by ICE at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport on August 7. She was traveling with her team to a tournament in New York at the time. Seck's attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds, revealed that Seck may have missed a student visa deadline due to back surgery and was struggling to receive medical care for her ACL injury while in custody.
Reynolds told USA Today that Seck's student visa had expired. A DHS spokesperson stated that Seck had been removed on September 8, 2025, after failing to attend the immigration hearing. The agency emphasized that Seck was voluntarily in detention, adding that being in custody is a choice. Seck's attorney disagrees, calling the DHS's statement "deeply troubling" and asserting that Seck's situation is not one of her own making.
Seck, who had been a starter for Kentucky State during the 2025-26 season, averaged over 11 points and seven rebounds per game. She scored 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a January game. Her university declined to comment on her case. Earlier in the week, Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D, KY) expressed support for Seck, vowing that her situation would not become the norm and that efforts to help her would continue.
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