BY LOUISE
Beyonce’s husband and Roc Nation founder Jay- Z has condemned the arrest and detention of rapper 21 Savage who was recently arrested for reportedly overstaying his visa, calling it a travesty.
“The arrest and detention of 21 Savage is an absolute travesty, his U visa petition has been pending for 4 years,” he shared in a statement to E! News. “In addition to being a successful recording artist, 21 deserves to be reunited with his children immediately #Free21Savage.”
To show his support, the singer hired an attorney Alex Spiro who confirms to E! News that he is helping in the 21 Savage case after being hired by Roc Nation and Jay-Z.
Spiro also told TMZ that “We are not going to stop until he is released, bonded out or in front of a judge…What we have here is someone who overstayed their Visa with an application pending for 4 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.”
The rapper, whose real name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph was arrested on Sunday by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who claimed that the rapper, a British national who came to the country as a teenager in July 2005 on a one-year visa, has long overstayed his visa and thus is eligible for deportation.
“His whole public persona is false. He actually came to the U.S. from the U.K. as a teen and overstayed his visa. He also fafail to depart under the terms of his nonimmigrant visa and he became unlawfully present in the U.S. when his visa expired in July 2006.”
The rapper on the other hand has always claimed he is from Atlanta.
The ICE also slammed a felony charge on the rapper, referring to his 2014 conviction on drug charges.