A new TMZ report has shed light on additional details of 21 Savage‘s arrest and posits that it may have been prompted by his 2017 U visa application. According to the latest report, ICE was already on the scene of 21 Savage’s arrest with his cousin Young Nudy, contradicting earlier reports that Dekalb County Police turned him over to ICE after running a background check. A recently unearthed birth certificate shows that 21 was born in London.
This suggests that ICE was already aware of his immigration status, which was likely identified by 21’s visa application. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) does a background check on all applications, which may have been what flagged his original visa which expired in 2006, one year after he arrived in the US with his mother at the age of 12. 21 couldn’t apply for the U visa sooner because one of its eligibility requirements is 10 years of residency in the US. The U visa is a form of relief for people who have been in the US illegally, have a qualifying US relative, and been victims of a crime, all of which applied to 21 at that point (he has three children who were born in the US). The visa would also allow 21 to travel for touring purposes.
However, ICE said in the initial report that the arrest was based in part on 21’s 2014 guilty plea for drug possession. Since that record was expunged, ICE could not use the conviction as grounds for arrest or denial of the visa. Some commenters have observed that ICE’s interest in 21 coincided with his increased philanthropic efforts and outspokenness about situations like the ongoing border crisis during his late night performance of I Am > I Was single “A Lot.” The latest news may add fuel to their criticisms of ICE’s actions.
As for Young Nudy, his arrest was based on a warrant from 2017. He was accused of a shooting in which the alleged victim was struck in the hips and buttock.
