‘I DID NOT WANT TO GET DEPORTED’
And that was why rapper 21 Savage kept the fact hidden that he was not a US citizen
Atlanta-based rapper 21 Savage said in an interview aired Friday that he didn’t talk about his British citizenship earlier because he didn’t want to get deported.
Abraham-Joseph, 26, said on the show Good Morning America he had no idea what a visa was when his mother brought him to the US at 7 years old. His visa expired in 2006. “I knew I wasn’t born here,” he said. “But I didn’t know, like, what that meant as far as when I transitioned into an adult, how it was going to affect my life.”
The Grammy-nominated artist, whose given name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested on February 3. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement called it a targeted operation. He was released from immigration custody on Wednesday on a $100,000 bond.
The rapper said he wasn’t hiding the fact that he isn’t a US citizen, but “I didn’t want to get deported so I’m not going to just come out and say, ‘Hey by the way, I wasn’t born here.’
His lawyers have said he applied for a new visa in 2017, and his case remains pending. One of his lawyers, Charles Kuck, said earlier this week that if the case follows the normal trajectory, it could take two to three years.
While Abraham-Joseph
There’s people that are just totally forgotten that exist in these detention centres. I’m hoping people like 21 Savage will help the people that are forgotten. 21 SAVAGE RAPPER-SINGER
was in immigration custody, his lawyers became aware of an outstanding warrant in Liberty County, along Georgia’s coast, and made arrangements for him to turn himself in, attorney Abbi Taylor said Friday.
Reportedly, the warrant was for theft by deception. It stemmed from what Taylor said was essentially a civil dispute. Abraham-Joseph performed a concert in Liberty County several years ago and the person who had booked the concert didn’t feel he had done enough and sought a warrant rather than suing him, she said.
After turning himself in Friday morning, AbrahamJoseph was released on his own recognisance. His legal team is working to resolve the underlying issue, Taylor said.
Abraham-Joseph said he believes the way immigration policy is enforced is broken, that he doesn’t think people “should be arrested and put in a place where a murderer would be for just being in the country for too long.”
Attorney Alex Spiro said on Good Morning America that he believes Abraham-Joseph was targeted “because he’s both a celebrity and they can use this as a way to send a message and also, perhaps, because of his music.”
He said he hopes the attention can help others held in immigration detention. “There’s people that are just totally forgotten that exist in these detention centres,” Spiro said. “I’m hoping people like 21 Savage will bring light to these issues and help the people that are forgotten,” he added.