Rapper 21 Savage was taken into custody by ICE for overstaying a UK visa, putting his origin story into question
- US Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested rapper 21 Savage Sunday, according to multiple Atlanta-area outlets.
- The agency said the rapper, who previously claimed that he grew up in Atlanta, is actually from the United Kingdom and overstayed his visa.
- ICE spokesman told local outlets that the rapper, whose real name is Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was taken into custody as part of a "targeted operation."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested rapper 21 Savage in Atlanta Sunday, according to multiple local outlets.
Atlanta's WSB reported that ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said the rapper, whose real name is Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was taken into custody as part of a "targeted operation" after he overstayed on a visa from the UK.
"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," Cox told WSB.
The agency also told the outlet that Abraham-Joseph initially entered the country legally in July 2005, when he would be 13 (if he is telling the truth about his age), but didn't leave when his visa expired in July 2006. In addition to the overstay, was convicted in Georgia on felony drug charges in October 2014 in Georgia.
Abraham-Joseph is reportedly in ICE custody in Georgia and will undergo removal proceedings in federal immigration courts.
The rapper has long claimed to have grown up in Atlanta, and was included in an Atlanta Magazine article saying he had "paid homage" to the city in an event at the State Farm Arena alongside Georgia-based rapper Ludacris and group Migos.
An ICE spokesperson reportedly told CNN, "His whole public persona is false."
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