After detaining 21 Savage, whose legal name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, ICE revealed its intention of potentially deporting the rapper due to his 2014 felony charge. The halt of this initial strategy has now been confirmed as the agency has removed the charge from the pending immigration case. Although the rapper was recently released from custody after posting a bond of an undisclosed sum, he still risks deportation.
ICE has shifted its focus to 21’s expired visa. The entertainer’s legal representation has confirmed that he had come to the United States with his family legally at the age of 7. The visa expired the following year while he was still a minor, according to Charles Kuck, managing partner of Kuck Baxter Immigration.
“I think this case is emblematic of a lot of cases where people are detained for not correct reasons, but they don’t always have resources to fight the system,” he told Buzzfeed. “This case is very emblematic of what happens in immigration court and detention.”
The attorneys thanked his fans for their support on behalf of their client after his release. “He says that while he wasn’t present at the Grammy Awards, he was there in spirit and is grateful for the support from around the world and is more than ever, ready to be with his loved ones and continue making music that brings people together,” they said.
TMZ is reporting that despite him being released from ICE, there are still many obstacles in his path and the biggest is none other than Donald Trump.
Apparently, the decision to arrest and deport 21 Savage was actually made months ago. When they came to that initial conclusion, they chose to keep 21 in custody until he could be deported. The reason for this is because they incorrectly believed that the rapper had a felony conviction, which ultimately turned out being false. When the conviction was released from his file, ICE in Washington D.C. reportedly ignored the fact, saying that 21 Savage should not be released from custody.
Donald Trump changed immigration laws from the ones that Obama and Bush used. Trump’s orders are reportedly to deport people who have a pending visa application, which was the case with 21 Savage. As we previously reported, the artist applied for a renewal of his U.S. citizenship in 2017 and it was still pending at the time of his arrest.
It takes approximately 4 years for ICE to process visa applications so there is still a chance that 21 Savage gets deported. Hopefully, he gets to remain with his family in Atlanta.
Credits: HNHH