A women’s basketball player at Kentucky State University has been in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for more than a month.
First reported by the Louisville Courier-Journal, a member of the USA TODAY Network, Aminata Seck, 26, was detained by ICE on Aug. 7 at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport before she was set to travel with her team to New York.
Sadiqa Reynolds, a lawyer helping with Seck's case, told USA TODAY Sports "no one" – friends, family, teammates or coaches – has seen Seck since she was first detained. Reynolds said has only spoken to SEck “a half-dozen times” by phone.
Reynolds said she traveled to the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, on Monday, Sept. 21 to see
Seck, but was told Seck was receiving medical care at a different facility. Reynolds said officials at the detention center wouldn’t say where they took Seck. Reynolds added Seck was dealing with an ACL injury and wearing a brace on her leg before she was taken into custody, and had difficulty getting access to basic medical care such as ice for her knee.
“They could not tell me what time she left, they would not tell me where she was, they would not tell me when she would be back,” Reynolds said. “I think it's very unfortunate. I’m hoping that the NCAA and others will get involved and make sure student-athletes are protected."
Athlete detained by ICE had expired student visa, per lawyer
Seck, who is from Senegal, was detained because her student visa expired, Reynolds said. 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."
ICE has an online detainee locator system, but Seck’s name was not listed on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Associated Press reported this week 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. It's unclear if Seck has been served with deportation orders.
Seck is listed, with a mugshot, among the inmates at the Grayson County Detention Center with an offense description that 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. She has also been held in a facility in Chicago.
"Can you imagine being 6-foot-4 with an injury and being put in a vehicle and transported to four different counties in two days? The only medication she's received is ibuprofen," Reynolds said. "I know she's been in a lot of pain. … This is a horrible time."
ICE did not immediately respond to multiple requests for comment.
The NCAA also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for Kentucky State told USA TODAY Sports, "Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, Kentucky State University does not have information to share."
Aminata Seck a basketball, academic standout at Kentucky State
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 Courier-Journal. In July, after pressure from Democratic Kentucky Congressman Morgan McGarvey, a Ugandan woman who says she was denied medical care for sickle cell anemia was released from ICE custody after being detained at the airport in Louisville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Injured women’s college basketball player detained by ICE for a month-plus
