Rapper 21 Savage is finally addressing his deportation back to the United Kingdom.
The rapper, real name Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was deported back to his home country on Monday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials discovered he had been living in the U.S. illegally for a number of years. (RELATED: Famous Rapper Discovered To Be Living In The US Illegally, Arrested By ICE)
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested unlawfully present United Kingdom national Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph AKA ’21 Savage’ during a targeted operation with federal and local law enforcement partners early Sunday in metro Atlanta,” Brian Cox, a spokesman for ICE, said in a statement. “Mr. Abraham-Joseph was taken into ICE custody as he is unlawfully present in the U.S. and also a convicted felon.”
And now, days later, the rapper is addressing his deportation through his legal team.
The statement, per The Blast, reads in part:
As a minor, his 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.
…Mr. Abraham-Joseph has US citizen children that he supports and is eligible for relief from deportation. We and he will fight for his release, for his family, and his right to remain in our country. No one would expect less from him.”
His reps also called Savage a “dreamer,” saying he, “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.”