Rapper 21 Savage is determined to raise awareness about the United States Immigration policy as it relates to children who migrated to the country and overstayed their visas. A circumstance the rapper knows all too well.
Savage, born She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph was arrested In February and detained for 10 days in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, before his release pending trial.
The rapper expressed his belief during the National Immigration Law Center (NILC) ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 3, where he received an award.
“When you’re a child, you don’t know what’s going on. Now, you grow up and got to figure it out,” he said. “Can’t get a job. Can’t get a license. I’m one of the lucky ones who became successful. It’s a lot of people who can’t.”
NILC honored 21 Savage for being an advocate for immigrant justice. His arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was said to be a targeted operation over his expired visa. The Atlanta-based rapper is a British citizen who moved to the U.S. when he was 7. His visa expired in 2006, but his lawyers said that wasn’t his fault.
In fact, Savage said that as a youth, he was never aware of the proper paperwork needed to be deemed a legal citizen. “I just knew we were moving to a new place,” he continued. Now, as a result, he believes other children in his past situation should automatically be granted citizenship.
“When you ain’t got no choice, you should be exempt,” 21 Savage said. “It’s not like I was 30, woke up, and moved over here. I’ve been here since I was like 7 or 8, probably younger than that. I didn’t know anything about visas and all that. I just knew we were moving to a new place.”
While 21 Savage was thankful for the award, he was deeply concerned for the countless immigrants who are battling to stay in the U.S. with little to no resources at their disposal.
“They just lose hope,” he said. “I feel like kids who were brought here at young ages, they should automatically be like ‘Yeah, you good to stay here, work and go to college.’ It should be nipped in the bud before it gets to a point before you come of age.”
21 Savage said the process of applying for a visa discourages a lot of other immigrants who don’t have documents because it “hangs over your head forever.” The 26-year old’s case is still pending a hearing before a new judge.
“We got a fight that we need to continue in this country,” he said. “It ain’t over yet. Even after everything is cool with me, we still have to fight and help people who can’t fight for themselves.”
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