Immigration law reform can’t come soon enough for 21 Savage, who was arrested by ICE in February of this year for overstaying his visa as a teen 10 years ago and still awaits his court date to state his case, according to TMZ. According to the report, 21 was only recently awarded a work permit allowing him to perform in the US, but due to the pending nature of his immigration case, he can’t leave the US to tour abroad, which is how many rappers make much of their income these days.
European tours have come to be an important source of touring revenue for big-name rappers like Drake, Future, Tyler The Creator, and more of 21’s peers, although they have also proved to be a source for legal trouble as well, as demonstrated by ASAP Rocky’s recent adventure in a Swedish jail for assault.
Savage has been able to tour and collect feature checks by popping up on remixes to Normani’s “Motivation” and Alicia Keys’ “Show Me Love,” but his ICE case continues to interfere with his career — which seems counterproductive, considering rap is the legal hustle that keeps him from having to commit crimes for a living and that he’d have to pay all that tax money to contribute to the economy… you know, the things this illegal immigration crackdown are supposed to have addressed.
Savage’s plight is by no means singular; according to the TMZ report, the immigration courts in Atlanta have become so overcrowded that some applicants have received court dates for 2022. It doesn’t seem the system is working to help anyone in that case, and the situation only gets worse by the day.
