Still awaiting a court ruling on accusations that he has been living in the USA illegally, 21 Savage has been granted bail and will be released from custody later today.
The rapper was arrested by Immigration & Customs Enforcement earlier this month, the US government body saying that he was an “unlawfully present United Kingdom national” residing in the country illegally.
He later confirmed that he was indeed born in the UK, but said that he had lived in the US since he was aged seven, initially legally. He added that he lost his legal status aged twelve through no fault of his own. In 2017, he applied for a visa to ensure that he was fully entitled to stay in the country, which is yet to be granted.
In a statement yesterday, law firm Kuck Baxter Immigration said: “For the past nine long days, we, on behalf of She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, known to the world as 21 Savage, have been speaking with ICE to both clarify his actual legal standing, his eligibility for bond, and provide evidence of his extraordinary contributions to his community and society”.
As a result of that, the rapper was granted an expedited hearing on potential bail earlier this week, with his legal team then successfully arguing for him to be released on bond. The lawyers added: “In the last 24 hours, in the wake of the Grammy Awards at which he was scheduled to attend and perform, we received notice that She’yaa was granted an expedited hearing. Today, 21 Savage was granted a release on bond. He won his freedom”.
The legal firm also included a message from the rapper, saying: “While he wasn’t present at the Grammy Awards, he was there in spirit and is grateful for the support from around the world and is more than ever, ready to be with his loved ones and continue making music that brings people together. He will not forget this ordeal or any of the other fathers, sons, family members, and faceless people, he was locked up with or that remain unjustly incarcerated across the country. And he asks for your hearts and minds to be with them”.
Last week, Jay-Z announced via his Roc Nation company that he had paid for lawyer Alex Spiro to join 21 Savage’s legal team to argue for his release. A statement read: “The arrest and detention of 21 Savage is an absolute travesty. His U-visa petition has been pending for four years. In addition to being a successful recording artist, 21 deserves to be reunited with his children immediately. [A] person only charged as ‘visa overstay’ is bond eligible. 21 Savage should be released immediately”.
In a further tweet, Roc Nation also noted, as many others have done, that his arrest came days after he performed his track, ‘A Lot’, on ‘The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon’. The track includes lyrics critical of the Trump administration’s policy of detaining the children of families caught attempting to illegally cross the US border separately from their parents.
Following the announcement that his release on bond had been secured, Roc Nation said in a new statement: “We are pleased that 21 Savage was released on bond and will be reunited with his children after his incarceration. We will continue to stand with 21 Savage and all the families that continue to be unfairly victimised by our country’s broken immigration policies”.