After appealing the ruling to send him back to England, officials have decided to uphold the decision to deport Ricky Walters aka Slick Rick back to England.
The INS board has decided not to let Rick stay in the United States since they say he violated the ruling that no non-US citizen can serve more than five years in jail. Rick exceeded his alloted jail time amount by twelve days. Lawyers for the detained rapper say they plan to continue pleading to the board for his release. Slick Rick’s wife Mandy Aragones issued a statement to the media last week stating:
“Though we have appealed numerous times and advocated both publicly and privately for the INS to drop their deportation order against Slick Rick, we are facing the very real possibility that Slick Rick will be deported from the country at a moment’s notice. They are continuing to harass Rick, while unjustly holding him without bond. This past Wednesday, Rick was made to sign a passport application, something he had been refusing to do as it is a crucial step in removing him from the country. INS officers confronted Rick with the option of signing the application or facing the possibility of being moved to a jail for “uncooperatives,” from which he could be deported at the drop of a hat, even without a passport. In order to not take that particular risk, Rick signed the application.”
“Ricky Walters built his life here in the United States of America, and, through his music, he made life here in the United States of America more enjoyable and exciting for many people. I am urging everyone who loves Slick Rick to call The White House at 202.456.1111 in an joint effort with the Hip Hop Summit Action Network to call upon the President to take executive action to stop INS from deporting Rick.”
