21 Savage’s legal representatives have issued a statement on his behalf in an attempt to combat misinformation.
The Epic Records artist was revealed to be British when he was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Sunday (February 3). While the revelation caused many to question his backstory, 21’s team noted he was indeed born in the United Kingdom but came to the United States when he was 7 years old.
According to 21’s team, he entered the country under an H-4 visa. H-4 visas are given to the immediate family members of H-1B visa holders, who are allowed to legally work in the U.S.
Earlier this week, ICE claimed 21 “initially entered the U.S. legally in July 2005 but subsequently failed to depart under the terms of his nonimmigrant visa.”
21’s reps say he stayed in the U.S. until June 2005, when he visited the United Kingdom for one month. According to them, he returned to the U.S. under a valid H-4 visa in July 2005. Although they admit he lost his legal status in 2006, 21’s team notes he was a child with no means to address his immigration status on his own.
The statement claims 21 is eligible for cancellation of removal from an immigration judge. Reasons cited for his eligibility include his near 20-year residency in the U.S. and having multiple family members who are citizens or lawful permanent residents.
21’s team also reiterated his immigration status was never hidden from any federal agencies. They specifically noted the Department of Homeland Security knew his address after he filed for a U visa in 2017.
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Read the entire statement below.
There has been a great deal of misreporting in the case of She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, known professionally as 21 Savage. Conjecture and misinformation help no one make good decisions and leads to false conclusions. Here are the facts:
Mr. Abraham-Joseph was born in the United Kingdom. Mr. Abraham-Joseph arrived legally in the United states at the age of 7 under an H-4 visa. He remained in the United States until June 2005, when he departed for approximately one month to visit the United Kingdom. He returned to the United States under a valid H-4 visa on July 22, 2005. Mr. Abraham-Joseph has been continuously physically present in the United States for almost 20 years, except for a brief visit abroad. Unfortunately, in 2006 Mr. Abraham-Joseph lost his legal status through no fault of his own.
Mr. Abraham-Joseph, 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. Mr. Abraham-Joseph has no criminal convictions or charges under state or federal law and is free to seek relief from removal in immigration court. ICE provided incorrect information to the press when it claimed he had a criminal conviction.
Mr. Abraham-Joseph has three US 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. ICE has the ability to set a bond and conditions of release on cases exactly like this. ICE routinely grants bond to individuals in Mr. Abraham-Joseph’s circumstances, specifically individuals who have overstayed a prior valid visa and have relief from deportation under federal law. There is no chance that Mr. Abraham-Joseph is a flight risk. Mr. Abraham-Joseph is not a “danger” to the community as his acts of philanthropy and good will, as well as his music, continue to improve the communities from which he comes.
Mr. Abraham-Joseph has a pending U visa application with the USCIS. This U visa was filed as a result of being the victim of a deadly shooting in 2013. That visa was filed in 2017 and remains pending. When granted, the U visa will afford him lawful status in the United States. Generally, ICE has recognized a pending facially valid U visa as a basis to delay removal proceedings and release individuals from custody.
There continues to be no legal reason to detain Mr. Abraham-Joseph for a civil law violation that occurred when he was a minor, especially when people in his exact situation are routinely released by ICE. Many have speculated as to possible ulterior motives for his arrest and detention, including that he released music five days prior to his arrest by ICE, which included new lyrics condemning the behavior of immigration officials for their detention of children at the border. 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.
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Finally the facts. Come on people. You can’t be British one week and develop that authentic of an Atlanta accent the next. Bunch of jackasses throwing dirt on his name when he faces a battle many face here. Treating him like a damn terrorist. Ridiculous.
He has a terrorist name though.
He does not. It’s like saying you got a n-gga name. Or your american you got a troublemaker name stfu.
You hurt because he literally broke the law. He isn’t some poor migrant, he can afford to buy the proper visa and get citizenship here legally and pay his taxes like every other american. Pieces of shit like you are whats wrong with this country, you want to welcome everyone when we our kids go hungry.
So… he still knew he was illegal. Stop making excuses for him. Grown man, rich fellow, I’m sure he’s done s lot for his community, still illegal. Something that could have been solved, oh I dunno, 10 years ago. Cool. Is it the worst crime ever? No. Is he a terrorist? Maybe, I’m sure the US citizens in the streets where he was coming up were terrified (if he is to be believed) but not a terrorist in the sense most think of. But still, breaking the law when it was totally unnecessary is ridiculous. He shouldn’t be locked up, but he can’t go unpunished.
Shouldn’t have been fucken with Bone.. Lol
He don’t look American black now that I look.
Wtf does that mean? That’s dumb. Many Americans look like him.
Obviously I mean he looks kind of cute not like the typical african american .
Your IQ must be non-existent, like how do you even conjure up that fuckery you just blurted out. How does an African American look any different from Caribbean Blacks in the UK? Do you have any understanding/knowledge of how Blacks arrived in America/the Caribbean and migrated to the UK?
Let me get this right. 21 Snitch has a pending U visa which is for snitches that have agreed to testify against someone who commited an act of violence against them in the USA. Also he has no state or federal criminal convictions and was the dependant of someone on a H1b visa when he arrived as a dependant? H1b is the genius visa which means his parents were highly educated and provided him with a good home. 21 snitch is all lies!
Is a college-graduate a genius?
It’s a figure of speech you nitwit
Wish him all the best, but can someone please tell me how born in 1992 and came here in 2005 equalS 7 years old?
It says he arrived at 7 and remained UNTIL 2005, then returned to the UK for one month.
Appreciate that..i was hurting my head doing the math lol
He came with 7 and visited UK in 2005 for a month and came back with a visa
Might have been saying too much on A Lot.
These fake fraudulent ass rappers come and take a black artform dont respect the culture and peddle bs to the youth.get rich and put that shit in your face ?ass needs to be deported. Everyone wanna use the plight of the ghetto for a come up. Culture vultures ain’t just white. American blacks better wake tf up. Before it’s too late.
And who do you classify as black?! You “Black Americans” are ridiculous and ignorant. Brainwashed to think you’re the only ones who struggle and that you’re the only black people in the world. Always attacking/ bashing/ disrespecting/ demeaning other BLACK people like your oppressors do to you.
Message! The only difference between Blacks from America, Caribbean, South America and the rest of the diaspora is a boat stop…
If he is a convicted felon he needs to be deported. Don’t care about his success or anything else.
Why make such a big deal about this? Trump just said in his state of the union speech that he wants “the largest number of people to come to the country”. And no, i’m not making this up. He did say “legally” but still he certainly isnt anti-immigration.
Dr Suess ass BARS!! Lolololololol