Since 21 Savage was arrested as part of an immigration sting operation, the rapper has emerged from the saga using his platform to advocate for other immigrants who face imprisonment or deportation by the United States Government.
Most recently, the Atlanta-based artist has said that he believes immigrant children living in the United States should ‘automatically become citizens’.
Speaking with the Associated Press, 21 Savage mentioned, “When you’re a child, you don’t know what’s going on. Now, you grow up and got to figure it out. Can’t get a job. Can’t get a license. I’m one of the lucky ones who became successful. It’s a lot of people who can’t.”
21 Savage – ‘a lot (ft. J. Cole)
Earlier this year, 21 Savage spent nine days in an immigration detention centre after it was found his visa had expired in 2006, without his knowledge.
The rapper has been living in the United States since he was seven years old, when his family relocated to the U.S. from the United Kingdom. He was released just after the Grammy’s, which he was originally scheduled to perform at.
21 Savage was honoured by the National Immigration Law Center last week for his advocacy work.
“When you ain’t got no choice, you should be exempt,” 21 Savage said.
“It’s not like I was 30, woke up and moved over here. I’ve been here since I was like seven or eight, probably younger than that. I didn’t know anything about visas and all that. I just knew we were moving to a new place.”
When it’s come to 21 Savage’s case, it is still pending a hearing.
