Mississippi Valley State begins the 2026-27 season at Oklahoma on Nov. 6. It remains unclear if Pang will be able to play.
Mississippi Valley State men’s basketball player Qingfang Pang has been released by ICE following his detainment at the end of September.
According to ESPN, Pang was released on a $12,000 bail Tuesday afternoon but still faces a court hearing that could lead to his deportation. The 21-year-old student-athlete from China was reportedly taken into custody on Sept. 29 while trying to board a flight in Jackson.
According to Pang’s attorney, Marcus Session, school officials told him that his F-1 student visa had expired. Pang was reportedly on his way to his guardian’s residence in New York when officials detained him.
Session also claimed that the victim was unaware that he had not filed the proper paperwork to renew his visa and, upon being detained, was “coerced” by officials to sign a voluntary departure document. Session said that, since Pang wants to stay in Mississippi, the document was rescinded due to his limited English keeping him from fully understanding the document.
Pang received help from a Washington-based attorney in filing out the correct paperwork he would need to stay while he was in the custody of ICE. Additionally, U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith have showed their support for Pang remaining in Mississippi.
Pang will visit an immigration judge in Jena, La., on Oct. 27 to learn if he is able to remain in the U.S. or not.
“He legally entered the U.S. on November 17, 2023, on a temporary basis not to exceed September 5, 2024, but illegally overstayed,” an ICE overseer said in a statement. “All of his claims will be heard by an immigration judge, and he will receive due process. This administration will not ignore the rule of law.”
Pang transferred to Mississippi Valley State after spending two seasons at Monroe University, a college in New York. Before that, he attended and played at Christ the King High School in New York.