A judge has reopened the immigration case of a Kentucky State University women's basketball player and rescinded her deportation order, according to her legal team.
Immigration court judge Kelly Lake on Wednesday sided with the lawyers of Aminata Seck, a 26-year-old from Senegal, who was arrested on Aug. 7 at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Lake agreed that Seck did not receive sufficient notice of her immigration court hearing, which she missed, leading a judge to issue Seck a final order of removal in September 2025.
Seck is scheduled to appear in court for a new hearing on Nov. 20, according to her attorney, Hishem Alsalman. He is hopeful a federal judge will rule in Seck's favor in a separate habeas petition to free her from a detention center in Leitchfield, Kentucky.
A spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security said Seck entered the U.S. legally in 2019 on a temporary basis and overstayed "her welcome in violation of our nation's laws." The spokesperson said Seck will "remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings."
Seck, through her lawyers, says she was scheduled for surgery to repair a torn ACL and meniscus in her left knee on Sept. 8. She has since missed that procedure while in detention. Seck's lawyers say she has been moved to four facilities across three states in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky since the arrest. "Watching her walk is torture," said attorney Sadiqa Reynolds.
"I never imagined in my life that I would be in jail," Seck said in a statement. "I was just trying to get my education."
Kentucky State University has declined to comment on Seck's immigration case, citing privacy concerns.