Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage was all set to enjoy the Super Bowl on Sunday, but things took a definite wrong turn when the rapper found himself under arrest by ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
According to The Blast, ICE spokesman Bryan Cox confirms that 21 Savage (whose real name is Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) was arrested in Atlanta, describing him as an “unlawfully present United Kingdom national” — a claim that will no doubt surprise fans who assumed he was American.
The spokesperson adds that the 26-year-old rapper was arrested “during a targeted operation with federal and local law enforcement partners” early Sunday morning.
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WSBTV reports that an email from the ICE spokesman offered further explanation. “Mr. Abraham-Joseph was taken into ICE custody as he is unlawfully present in the U.S. and also a convicted felon,” added Cox (21 Savage was convicted of felony drug charges in 2014). “Mr. Abraham-Joseph initially entered the U.S. legally in July 2005, but subsequently failed to depart under the terms of his nonimmigrant visa.”
The spokesman also said that 21 Savage “is presently in ICE custody in Georgia and has been placed into removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts.”
However, a source close to 21 Savage tells The Blast that his lawyers are working to clear things up, describing the whole thing as a “misunderstanding” having to do with the validity of his immigration paperwork when he entered the U.S.
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“We are working diligently to get Mr. Abraham-Joseph out of detention while we work with authorities to clear up any misunderstanding,” the rapper’s lawyer, Dina LaPolt, told The Blast.
“Mr. Abraham-Joseph is a role model to the young people in the country — especially in Atlanta, Georgia — and is actively working in the community leading programs to help underprivileged youths in financial literacy,” the lawyer continued.
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Following his arrest, 21’s lawyer, Charles H. Kluck, claims in a new more in-depth statement that the arrest is “based upon incorrect information about prior criminal charges and [ICE is] now refusing to release him on bond of any amount, despite the fact that he has a pending U-Visa application (as the victim of crime) with USCIS, and that he has relief from removal available to him.”
“Mr. Abraham-Joseph has never hid his immigration status from the US government,” Kluck wrote. “The Department of Homeland Security has known his address and his history since his filing for the U-Visa in 2017, yet they took no action against him until this past weekend.”
Adding, “This is a civil law violation, and the continued detention of Mr. Abraham-Joseph serves no other purpose than to unnecessarily punish him and try to intimidate him into giving up his right to fight to remain in the United States.”
The timing of the arrest could not be worse for the rising rap star, who has worked with such artists as Cardi B, Drake and Post Malone, and recently charted his first #1 hit with “I Am > I Was”. He performed on Thursday at the Super Bowl Music Fest at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.
