Qingfang Pang Detained by ICE Over Expired Student Visa

Qingfang Pang was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on September 29 due to an alleged expired student visa. Standing 6-foot-9 and playing as a forward, Pang is currently being held at a detention facility in Louisiana, according to WJTV 12 out of Jackson, Mississippi.

Mississippi Valley State University Confirms Student Status

University officials released a statement acknowledging the situation involving their student. The institution noted that Pang is registered as a full-time student and that the campus is monitoring developments while preparing to offer appropriate support as conditions evolve. Before transferring to the Mississippi Valley State campus in Itta Bena, Mississippi, Pang played junior college basketball at Monroe University in New York, where he helped the team reach the NJCAA national tournament.

The spokesperson added that he remained in the country past that date without departing and has accepted a voluntary departure arrangement while remaining in ICE custody pending removal. Marcus Session, an attorney representing Pang, told WJTV that his client was apparently unaware that his student visa had lapsed while trying to travel back to New York, where a longtime family friend and patron had supported him throughout his stay.

Pang Seeks to Continue School and College Basketball

“He wants to continue school, and he wants to play college basketball,” Session told WJTV regarding his client’s goals. “He just wants to be a 21-year-old kid trying to make a life for himself.” WJTV also reported that an anonymous source suggested university-related paperwork delays might have contributed to the visa oversight, though that specific claim has not been independently verified.

Pang's detention follows a similar enforcement action earlier this year involving another college basketball player. Kentucky State University women's basketball player Aminata Seck, a native of Senegal, was detained by ICE on August 7 at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport. Seck was released on a $2,500 bond after spending 61 days in custody across at least four different detention facilities, according to her legal representation.