Grant Faces Uncertain Future with Wolfpack

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

& Eyewitness News

(10/12/05 - RALEIGH) -- Gavin Grant will be on the court when North Carolina State starts practice, though it remained unclear Wednesday how long he'll be able to remain in the country.

Federal immigration officials have determined the Wolfpack's sophomore swingman is living in the U.S. illegally, which could ultimately lead to deportation. But Grant remains on campus as the team prepares to open practice this week after making its best NCAA tournament showing in more than a decade last season.

"We're going under the assumption that nothing has changed," school spokeswoman Annabelle Vaughan said Wednesday. "He's in my media guide, he's in school workouts, he's in class, he's going to be practicing with the team."

Immigration officials recently interviewed Grant and concluded he came to the United States without permission, said Sue Brown, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Atlanta. He was given a notice to appear in federal immigration court in Atlanta, though a hearing date has yet to be determined.

"If you're already here without permission, there's no way you can make yourself legal," Brown said Wednesday. "It's already against the law. Unfortunately, he's not in the country legally and we had to take this action."

While deportation is a possible outcome, Brown said Grant could also "start over from scratch" by leaving the country and applying to re-enter, or he could appeal to stay. It was not clear Wednesday when the hearing in Atlanta will occur, she said.

Tom O'Connell, the ICE resident agent in charge in Cary, told The News & Observer of Raleigh that Grant apparently entered the United States from Jamaica after his mother did so. Grant, 20, has lived in the United States since at least 1994, he said.

The 6-foot-7 Grant averaged 4.2 points and 2.4 rebounds last season as a freshman reserve for the Wolfpack, which reached the NCAA round of 16 for the first time since 1989. He played at St. Raymond's in New York, the same school that produced former Wolfpack star Julius Hodge.

Thomas Griffin, N.C. State's director of undergraduate admissions, would not comment on the specifics of Grant's case, citing privacy laws.

University of North Carolina system policy allows for undocumented aliens to attend school "only if he or she graduated from high school in the United States." The same policy also bars such students from receiving "state or federal financial aid in the form of a grant or a loan."

Vaughan, an assistant athletics director for media relations, said Grant has an attorney and that she expected Grant to attend the team's preseason media day Friday.

Coach Herb Sendek would not comment on specifics of the case. "He's a young fella who's in a situation that isn't easy," Sendek told TV stations during a local charity benefit. "But he's an amazing young man, he really is."

Athletics director Lee Fowler did not return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment Wednesday.

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