On Feb. 12, rapper 21 Savage was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainment center where he had been held for nine days. 21 Savage, whose real name is Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was initially held for an expired visa, according to CNN.
21 Savage left the UK and arrived in the United States legally at the age of seven, and remained here until 2006 when his visa expired, according to BBC News.
Throughout this entire process, many different artists have voiced their support for 21 Savage, including Cardi B, Meek Mill and Offset. Jay-Z is one artist who has been particularly vocal in his support for 21 Savage.
According to BBC News, Jay-Z even hired a New York-based immigration lawyer, Alex Spiro, to prevent 21 Savage from being deported.
Jay-Z is so vocal about this situation that he even posted on his Facebook page in regards to 21 Savage and said he, "deserves to be reunited with his family immediately.”
It is clear Jay-Z believes that even though 21 Savage’s visa has expired, he deserves to be in this country because he has a family here. The BBC article said that 21 Savage has three children who are United States citizens.
I agree that 21 Savage deserves to stay in this country, partly because of his family, but I also have other reasons as to why he should be allowed to stay. One of the reasons is the fact that he has provided a service to our population as an artist.
He has released music that has influenced and helped many people in the nation cope with their problems because they are able to relate to his lyrics. Some people disagree, and most likely believe he has caused more problems than he has solved since his visa has expired.
According to the article by BBC News, ICE claims that 21 Savage should be deported because he has a criminal record, but his lawyer Spiro denies this accusation.
BBC News said that ICE offers evidence of their claim because of records of drug offenses 21 Savage was charged with in 2014, but Spiro and 21 Savage’s legal team deny this by saying that these offenses were subsequently removed from his record.
"What we have here is someone who overstayed their visa with an application pending for four years - not a convicted criminal that needs to be detained and removed but, by all accounts a wonderful person, father and entertainer who has a marijuana offense which was vacated and sealed,” Spiro said in a BBC article.
In my opinion, 21 Savage was targeted by ICE and his contributions to the United States clearly outweigh his past transgressions. There are roughly 4.2 million black immigrants in the United States and 619,000 who are undocumented, according to The Guardian. Just because 21 Savage is famous is no excuse for him to be targeted and deported.
Opinion: 21 Savage - Deport or Support?
