Fans rally to #Free21Savage

21 Savage released from ICE custody after being arrested regarding citizenship

Joe Duffy / A&C Contributor / The USD Vista

Rapper 21 Savage, legally named She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility on bond Wednesday, Feb. 13. Authorities had arrested him Sunday, Feb. 3 in Atlanta, claiming that his presence in the U.S. became unlawful when his visa expired in 2006.

ICE revealed that Abraham-Joseph is a British-born citizen, a revelation that prompted widespread confusion amongst his fans. This is because both the style and lyrical content of the rapper’s music are so closely tied to Atlanta, a city with a booming hip-hop scene. In an interview with the hip-hop magazine XXL from 2016, the rapper says he is from Decatur, Ga. and in his music he recounts a troubled upbringing plagued with drugs, guns, violence, and poverty.

However, Abraham-Joseph’s lawyers tell a story in which he is the hapless victim of a flawed system. “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,” his lawyers said in a statement. They claim that he came to the United States with his family at the age of seven and lost his legal status “through no fault of his own.”

Abraham-Joseph’s case sparked outrage. Many fans online sent messages of support and called for the rapper’s release. #Free21Savage went viral on social media platforms. Black Lives Matter began a petition to stop the rapper’s deportation that has gathered over 500,000 signatures.

Some were suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his arrest. Abraham-Joseph was detained in the days following his performance of the song “a lot” on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” where he rapped: “Been through some things but I can’t imagine my kids stuck at the border.” His lawyers maintain that the rapper was targeted in large part because of his celebrity status and his criticism of ICE.

The rapper’s arrest brought much attention to the current administration’s aggressive immigration policies. ICE has faced widespread scrutiny since President Trump signed an executive order in January 2017 increasing the agency’s staffing and expanding its immigration enforcement powers. Some have criticized the agency’s tactics and pushed to have it dissolved entirely. 

Among those averse to ICE’s arrest is senior Dominic Trento.

“I was pretty upset about 21 Savage’s arrest,” Trento said. “It is absolutely a targeting by ICE and the deportation regime to intimidate people by using a public figure who is active in building up his community.” 

Abraham-Joseph’s lawyers and other supporters point to a variety of factors that they hope will prevent his deportation. A felony drug conviction from 2014 that ICE initially used as the grounds for his deportation was expunged, his lawyers say, and he has three young children who are all U.S. citizens. In addition, he has hosted back-to-school drives in Atlanta and helped to establish the “21 Savage Bank Account” campaign, a financial literacy program aimed toward servicing underprivileged teens.

In his first interview since his release, Abraham- Joseph’s had a lot to say on “Good Morning America.”

“I’ve been here 20 years, 19 years, this is all I know, you know what I’m saying?” Abraham -Joseph’s said. “I don’t feel like you should be arrested and put in a place where a murderer would be just for being in the country for too long.”

The 26-year-old Grammy nominee has a long road ahead of him as his visa application hangs in limbo.