On February 3, Atlanta-rapper 21 Savage was arrested and taken into custody by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Savage, real name She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested as part of a targeted operation. An ICE spokesperson claimed that Abraham-Joseph is a “United Kingdom national” who “is unlawfully present in the U.S.”
Now, 21 Savage has confirmed via representatives that he was born in the United Kingdom. As The Blast reports, Savage was born in the London borough of Newham in 1992.
Savage has disputed the timeline of events presented by ICE. Claiming that his family came to the United States earlier than immigration allege. ICE claim that Savage arrived in the US in 2005 at age 12. However, Savage has shared that his family immigrated to the US when he was 7-years-old under an H-4 visa. Savage left the US in 2005 to visit the United Kingdom and returned that same month. Savage claims that he lost his legal status in 2006 “through no fault of his own.”
“Like almost two million of his immigrant child peers, was left without immigration status as a young child with no way to fix his immigration status. These ‘Dreamers’ come from all walks of life and every ethnicity.” Savage’s legal team shared.
The rapper claims that he applied for a visa in 2017, once he was made aware of his illegal classification.
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Read the full statement below:
“Mr. Abraham-Joseph has three U.S. Citizen children, a lawful permanent resident mother and four siblings that are either US Citizens or lawful permanent residents. He has exceptionally strong ties in the United States, having lived here since he was in the first grade. Because of his length of residence in the United States and his immediate relatives, Mr. Abraham-Joseph is eligible to seek Cancellation of Removal from an Immigration Judge.
Mr. Abraham-Joseph was placed into deportation proceedings AFTER his arrest, he was not in deportation proceedings prior to this detention by ICE. DHS has known his address since the filing of a U visa application in 2017. He has never hidden from DHS or any of its agencies. Mr. Abraham-Joseph is not subject to mandatory detention under federal law and is eligible for bond. By statute, bond should be granted by ICE when there is no flight risk or a danger to the community… We are unaware of why ICE apparently targeted Mr. Abraham-Joseph, but we will do everything possible to legally seek his release and pursue his available relief in immigration court.”
