10/01/26 04:57:00
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10/01 16:55 CDT Women's basketball player from Senegal has deportation order
rescinded after arrest by ICE
Women's basketball player from Senegal has deportation order rescinded after
arrest by ICE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) --- A Kentucky State University women's basketball player
from Senegal, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has been
granted a motion by an immigration judge that reopens her immigration
proceedings and rescinds a deportation order.
Aminata Seck is scheduled for a hearing on Nov. 26, giving her a chance to
appear and argue her case. The motion was granted Wednesday.
"She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings," the Department of
Homeland Security wrote in a statement on Thursday.
Seck was detained on Aug. 7 at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport
as she was planning to travel with her team to a tournament.
DHS said in a statement that Seck legally entered the United States in 2019,
then "chose to overstay her welcome in violation of our nation's laws." The
agency wrote that an immigration judge had ordered Seck removed a year ago
after she failed to appear at an immigration hearing.
"The immigration judge specifically found that Aminata demonstrated that she
did not receive notice of the prior proceedings," her attorney, Hishem
Alsalman, said Thursday.
The 26-year-old Seck is from Dakar, Senegal's capital.
"We continue to maintain that her ongoing detention is unlawful and
unnecessary, particularly now that the order underlying the government's prior
position has been rescinded," Alsalman said.
Alsalman said Seck has had seizures while in custody and needs treatment for a
torn knee ligament, adding she was scheduled for surgery before she was
detained.
DHS said Seck was wearing a leg brace for a knee injury when she was arrested
and is receiving treatment at a hospital.
Seck was named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
All-Conference Third Team last season after she led the team with 11.7 points
and 7.3 rebounds. The 6-foot-4 center had five double-doubles last season and
scored a season-high 30 points against Lane College on Jan. 14.
Seck also was named the SIAC Women's Basketball Elite 16 award winner. The
award is the SIAC's highest academic honor and is presented to student-athletes
who demonstrate exemplary performance in sports and the classroom.
Rep. Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat who represents a district including
Louisville, has said he is monitoring Seck's situation, and that of others who
have been arrested and detained in Kentucky. The school has declined to comment.
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