A Mississippi Valley State University basketball player is seeking an emergency hearing after ICE detained him for allegedly overstaying his visa, WJTV reported.
Qingfang Pang was detained Sept. 29 and was being held in Louisiana, according to ICE records cited by the station. His attorney, Marcus Session, said he had requested an emergency bond hearing but had seen no movement in the case as of WJTV’s report.
Session said Pang did not realize his visa had expired. He is now working to have his student visa reinstated, with his attorney pushing to get him before an immigration judge as soon as possible.
“He wants to resume going to school. He wants to play college basketball. He wants to be a 21-year-old kid who’s just trying to make a life for himself,” Session said, according to WJTV.
Pang arrived at the Itta Bena, Mississippi, university about a year before his detention after playing junior college basketball at Monroe University in New York.
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He was attempting to return to New York when he was detained, Session told WJTV. The attorney said Pang planned to stay with his original sponsor, a family friend who had supported him during his time in the United States.
A source familiar with the case told the station that the visa issue may have resulted from a delay involving university paperwork.
“He’s tired of being detained. He’s tired, you know, of feeling that he’s a criminal,” Session said, according to WJTV.
Pang’s case follows another reported ICE detention involving a college student in September. A Southern Connecticut State University student was detained while attempting to board a flight after allegedly overstaying a visa, WJTV reported.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
