A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says that a women’s college basketball player arrested in Kentucky by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will remain in custody pending removal proceedings.
Aminata Seck, a 26-year-old from Senegal who plays for Kentucky State University, was arrested by ICE on Aug. 7 at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport before she was set to travel with her team to New York.
In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday, Sept. 23, DHS said that Seck legally entered the country on Sept. 1, 2019, through Los Angeles, on a temporary basis.
“She chose to overstay her welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” DHS said. “To be clear: a pending application or work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States.”
DHS said that an immigration judge issued a final order of removal for Seck on Sept. 8, 2025, after she “failed to show up for her immigration hearing.”
“She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” DHS said of Seck.
Detained college basketball player moved multiple times
Sadiqa Reynolds, a lawyer helping with Seck’s case, told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week that “no one” – friends, family, teammates or coaches – has seen Seck since she was first detained. Reynolds has only spoken to Seck “a half-dozen times” by phone.
Reynolds said that Seck was detained because her student visa expired. During President Donald Trump‘s second term in office, the U.S. State Department says it has revoked more than 175,000 visas, including more than 8,000 student visas.
“It’s a paperwork situation. She has not broken any laws, she hasn’t done anything wrong. She’s not a criminal,” Reynolds said of Seck. “She’s a student, she was playing basketball. She’s out here trying to make it as best she can. I don’t think people really understand how difficult the immigration process is. It is not easy. I think we maybe take it for granted.”
According to Reynolds, Seck was dealing with an ACL injury and wearing a brace on her leg before she was taken into ICE custody, and had difficulty getting access to basic medical care such as ice for her knee. When Reynolds went to visit Seck at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, on Monday, Sept. 21, she was told by officials at the detention center that Seck was transferred to a medical facility.
DHS seemed to confirm that in its statement, saying Seck was “referred to the local hospital, where she is receiving treatment for knee pain” on Monday. DHS did not respond to a question asking specifically where Seck is being treated.
“It is a longstanding practice to provide comprehensive medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” DHS said. “This includes medical, dental, and mental health services as available, and access to medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. Illegal aliens also have access to phones to communicate with their family members and lawyers. This is the best healthcare that many aliens have received in their lives.”
ICE has an online detainee locator system, but Seck’s name was still not listed in the database on Wednesday. The Associated Press reported this week that ICE has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding thousands of detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, and removed those detainees from its online system on Sept. 15.
Seck is still listed on the online inmate list for the Grayson County Detention Center with a mugshot as of Wednesday night. The offense description with her listing reads: “US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY / ICE.” The entry notes no bond and that she was transferred to the facility on Sept. 18.
Reynolds said Seck has been moved at least four times and has spent time being detained in Kentucky’s Clay, Clark and Grayson counties, and has also been held at a facility in Chicago. DHS did not respond to a question specifically asking why Seck had been moved so many times in the 48 days she has been in ICE custody.
In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday morning, Rep. Morgan McGarvey – a Democrat representing Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District – said his office is monitoring Seck’s situation.
“Aminata is a student-athlete who was arrested by ICE at the airport while traveling with her teammates,” McGarvey said. “The Trump Administration’s cruelty knows no bounds, but we will never let this become normal and we won’t stop fighting for her.”
The NCAA has not responded to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Kentucky State told USA TODAY Sports earlier this week, “out of respect for the privacy of those involved, Kentucky State University does not have information to share.”
DHS: ‘Being in detention is a choice’
Seck, who is listed as a senior on Kentucky State’s roster, started 20 of 26 games for the Thorobreds last season and was named third-team All-SIAC after averaging 11.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. She scored a season-high 30 points against Lane College on Jan. 14 and grabbed a season-best 16 rebounds against Clark-Atlanta University on Feb. 23.
Additionally, Seck was named a recipient of the SIAC’s Elite 16 award, the conference’s highest academic achievement honor for student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary performance in athletics and the classroom.
Kentucky State, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, is a historically Black college which plays its sports at the Division II level of the NCAA.
In 2025, 264 international players competed in March Madness for men’s and women’s basketball, amounting to about 15% of all players, according to the NCAA. Since 2010, the number of international players in men’s and women’s college basketball has increased by 175%.
ICE arrests in Kentucky have increased by nearly 70% this year, according to a data analysis by the Louisville Courier-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
DHS ended its statement by saying, “Being in detention is a choice.”
“The United States is offering illegal aliens $3,000 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream,” DHS said. “If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Women’s college basketball player will remain in ICE custody, DHS says
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