Kentucky State women’s basketball player Aminata “Amina” Seck has been in federal immigration custody since Aug. 7, when she was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport while traveling to New York for an HBCU all-star basketball event.
Nearly two months later, Seck remains detained, but her legal situation shifted significantly this week. An immigration judge on Wednesday granted a motion to reopen her deportation proceedings, halting an existing removal order and making the 26-year-old from Dakar, Senegal, eligible for a bond hearing.
The development comes as one of Seck’s attorneys, Sadiqa Reynolds, says that Seck was recently hospitalized after suffering what appeared to be a seizure or other medical emergency while in custody.
“She was hospitalized and we were not made aware of that information,” Reynolds said during an exclusive interview with HBCU Go. “The only reason we actually learned that she was in the hospital was because I happened to go to the jail that day in Grayson County.”
The full interview with Reynolds will appear on the HBCU Go platform.
Amina Seck detained while traveling to HBCU all-star event
Seck was traveling with Kentucky State head women’s basketball coach Amani Williams to New York for the HBCU All-Star Dream Classic. The event was held Aug. 8 at historic Holcombe Rucker Park in Harlem and featured 40 HBCU basketball players from programs across the country.
Reynolds said Seck had already gone through airport security when authorities approached her.
“The coach tried to intervene,” Reynolds said. “They wouldn’t show the coach any paperwork or anything like that. They did show Amina some paperwork and they took her into custody.”
The Department of Homeland Security previously said Seck legally entered the United States in September 2019 but overstayed her authorized period and was ordered removed in September 2025 after failing to appear for an immigration hearing. Reynolds has said questions remained about whether Seck knew about that order.
That removal order is now on hold. Attorney Hishem Alsalman told The Athletic that an immigration judge granted Seck’s motion to reopen the case Wednesday. A master hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 20, while her attorneys are also pursuing her release from custody.
Attorney says Amina Seck suffered medical emergency in custody
Seck was already dealing with a torn ACL and meniscus in her left knee, according to Reynolds. She was scheduled for surgery Sept. 7 but missed the procedure while detained.
Reynolds said the more recent hospitalization was for a separate medical emergency.
“It seems that she had some sort of seizure or some medical emergency that caused them to transport her to the hospital,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds estimated Seck was hospitalized for three or four days. She also said Seck was shackled at her wrists, ankles and waist and handcuffed to the hospital bed for at least part of her stay.
DHS previously said Seck was referred to a hospital for knee pain and said detainees have access to medical care. Reynolds, however, said the hospitalization she discussed was not related to Seck’s knee injury.
After returning to the Grayson County Detention Center, Reynolds said Seck was placed in isolation. Seck told Reynolds the lights remain on 24 hours a day in her cell, while jail personnel have attributed her separation from other detainees to the brace she wears on her injured leg.
Bond hearings emerge as national immigration issue
Seck’s newly reopened immigration case makes her eligible for a bond hearing that could potentially allow her to leave custody while her case proceeds. Her attorneys have also pursued a federal habeas corpus petition seeking her release.
The development comes as the broader issue of immigration detention and bond hearings reached the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.
The Supreme Court agreed to review the Trump administration’s policy of denying bond hearings to certain immigrants detained while deportation proceedings are pending. The AP reports that nine of the 11 federal appeals court circuits have concluded that detaining immigrants under the disputed circumstances without a bond hearing violates federal law, while the 5th and 8th Circuits have sided with the government’s interpretation.
There is no established indication that the Supreme Court’s decision to hear that case will directly affect Seck’s proceedings. The court has agreed to consider the legal question but has not yet ruled on it.
Before her detention, the 6-foot-4 center earned Third-Team All-SIAC honors following the 2025-26 season and received the conference’s Elite 16 award for academic achievement. She averaged 11.7 points and 7.3 rebounds and recorded five double-doubles for Kentucky State.
For Reynolds, the immediate focus remains Seck’s health and securing her release.
“Amina is the strongest person I have ever met,” Reynolds said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that they will not break her. But she should not have to go through this.”