Another HBCU Basketball Player Detained by ICE

Delta Devils basketball player Qingfang Pang was detained on September 29 while trying to fly to New York. His attorney is now asking for an emergency bond hearing.

HOUSTON -- Mississippi Valley State basketball player Qingfang Pang is being held in federal immigration custody in Louisiana. ICE agents detained him as he tried to fly to New York, according to his attorney.

Pang, 21, was taken into custody by ICE on September 29 for allegedly overstaying his student visa, according to WJTV 12 News. ICE’s online detainee locator shows Pang is being held in Louisiana.

Mississippi Valley State recruited Pang from Monroe University, a junior college in New York. He has spent almost a year at MVSU in Itta Bena on a basketball scholarship.

Pang’s attorney, Marcus Session, told WJTV that Pang did not know his visa had expired. Session said Pang could be sent home or left without a place to stay. Pang was on his way to New York to see his longtime sponsor, a family friend who has supported him since he came to the United States, when ICE detained him.

A source close to the case told WJTV that the visa issue may have happened because of delayed paperwork at the university. Mississippi Valley State had not responded to WJTV’s request for comment when this story was published.

Bond request pending

Session has asked for an emergency bond hearing. He said the request is still waiting to move forward in the immigration court system.

The attorney said the goal is to give Pang a fair chance to present his case to an immigration judge. Pang is also trying to get his student visa reinstated.

“He’s tired, you know, of feeling that he’s a criminal,” Session told WJTV as the detainment is taking a toll on Pang.

Session said Pang hopes to return to class, play college basketball, and build a life for himself.

How student visa status works

Mississippi Valley State is approved by the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program to enroll international students with F-1 visas. A school official keeps each student’s record in the federal SEVIS database.

If a student’s record lapses, they can lose their status and face detention or removal from the country.

Second HBCU basketball case this fall

Since August, Pang is the second HBCU basketball player that ICE has detained at an airport.

Kentucky State women’s basketball center Aminata Seck, a 26-year-old senior from Dakar, Senegal, was detained on Aug. 7 at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport while traveling with her team to a tournament in New York, according to The Associated Press. On Oct. 7, Seck was granted a $2,500 bond and released by a Federal judge after two months at the Grayson County Detention Center.

Last season, Seck averaged 11.9 points per game and earned All-SIAC third-team honors.

Her attorney, Sadiqa Reynolds, said Seck may have missed a student visa deadline while she was recovering from back surgery. An ICE spokesperson told Front Office Sports in late September that Seck would stay in custody while removal proceedings continue.

WJTV also reported that a Southern Connecticut State student was detained in September while trying to board a flight.

What comes next

Mississippi Valley State plays in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The university has not yet commented on Pang’s status with the team.

HBCU Legends will share updates as Pang’s case moves through immigration court.

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