On February 3, 2019, well-known rapper and songwriter 21 Savage was arrested by the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement organization.

Before he was arrested by ICE, 21 Savage (Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph) claimed to have been born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Many rappers claim to be from this area, so it wasn’t very surprising to hear this.

In truth, Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph was born in the Plaistow district of London, England on October 22, 1992. In July 2005 he came to the United States on a visa. When his visa expired in 2006, he did not go through the proper procedures and stayed in the United States anyway.

Local Bel Air High School student Andreas Akalou claims, “When I found out that 21 Savage is from the United Kingdom and not from Georgia, I was very surprised. He is one of my favorite artists and I’m somewhat disappointed that he is not a legal citizen.”

On February 12 of 2019, Abraham-Joseph was granted bond by ICE. Although he is being released from containment, this does not mean that he is safe from deportation. Being sent back to England is a huge possibility and might just happen.

BAHS student Eric Waugh claims, “I knew that he was living in the country illegally and tried to get his citizenship once he realized his visa expired, and personally I believe that he deserves to be deported.”

With everything on the line for Mr. Abraham-Joseph, all he can do is wait for April 11, 2019 which is the date he is scheduled to have an expedited deportation hearing.