ICE Detains Kentucky State Basketball Player From Senegal at Louisville Airport

A Kentucky State University women's basketball player from Senegal was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Louisville's Muhammad Ali International Airport last month as she prepared to fly to New York with her team for a tournament.

Aminata Seck, 26, is a native of Dakar, Senegal, and is in the United States on a student visa, according to her attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds. Reynolds said in social media posts that Seck was detained on Aug. 7 while planning to travel with her teammates to an HBCU tournament.

Reynolds suggested that Seck may have missed a student visa deadline because she was recovering from back surgery, and noted that the player also has an ACL injury. The attorney said she spoke with Seck last week and that the player remained in significant pain. According to Reynolds, Seck was moved between multiple detention facilities before being taken to a hospital.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday regarding the reason for her detention or the conditions of her confinement. Seck is listed on the Grayson County, Kentucky, Detention Center's online inmate roster, where the offense description reads: "US DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY / ICE."

Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, whose district includes Louisville, said he is monitoring Seck's situation as well as those of others arrested and detained in Kentucky. "Aminata is a student-athlete who was arrested by ICE at the airport while traveling with her teammates," he said in a statement. "The Trump administration's cruelty knows no bounds, but we will never let this become normal and we won't stop fighting for her."

Seck, a 6-foot-4 center, was named to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Conference Third Team last season after leading her team with 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She recorded five double-doubles and scored a season-high 30 points against Lane College on Jan. 14. She was also named the SIAC Women's Basketball Elite 16 award winner, the conference's highest academic honor, presented to student-athletes who demonstrate exemplary performance in athletics and the classroom.

Kentucky State University declined to comment, saying: "Out of respect for the privacy of those involved, Kentucky State University does not have information to share."