Rapper 21 Savage’s sister and lawyer recently spoke out about the artist’s recent arrest by ICE.
21 Savage, whose birth name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is currently being held without bond after he was arrested by U.S. Immigration on Sunday. Charles H. Kuck, Savage’s lawyer, spoke out to clarify information regarding the “A Lot” rapper’s arrest. Kuck says that 21 Savage was detained due to inaccurate information about the artist’s previous criminal charges, according to reports from The Blast. The rapper currently has a pending U-Visa application with USCIS, and he has relief from removal available to him.
Kuck claims that the Slaughter Gang rapper “has never hid his immigration status from the US government. 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.”
Kuck explained to The Blast that 21 Savage can’t be held because he isn’t “a threat [to] the community or a flight risk to not show up at their hearings. Obviously, our client is not a flight risk, as he is widely recognizable, and a prominent member of the music industry. Likewise, Mr. Abraham-Joseph is clearly not a danger to the community, and in fact, his contributions to local communities and schools that he grew up in are examples of the type of immigrant we want in America.”
According to Savage’s attorney, as a minor, the rapper’s family overstayed their work visas, “and he, like almost two million other children, was left without legal status through no fault of his own. 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.”
Savage has children, who are United States citizens, who he supports, which makes him eligible for relief from deportation, according to Kuck.
“We and he will fight for his release, for his family, and his right to remain in our country,” Kuck concludes. “No one would expect less from him.”
The 26-year-old rapper has twin sisters, Kyra and Jayda, who are dance choreographers in the UK’s capital, according to The Daily Mail Online. They both have referred to the rapper’s detainment as “fishy.” Jayda took to Twitter to comment on her older brother’s situation, saying that she believes Savage should be able to stay in the States regardless of where he’s originally from.
In addition to writing an in-depth report about the Atlanta-raised artist, The Daily Mail also released 21 Savage’s birth certificate, which states that he was born at Newham Hospital in London.
Glennisha Morgan is a Detroit-bred multimedia journalist and writer. She writes about intersectionality, hip-hop, pop culture, queer issues, race, feminism, and her truth.