After being detained for over a week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 21 Savage has his freedom back.
According to TMZ, the Atlanta rapper has been released on bond pending a deportation hearing.
As previously reported, 21 Savage was arrested by ICE on Sunday (Feb. 3) after authorities claimed he is actually from the UK and is unlawfully present in the United States. It was later revealed that the rapper was in the process of attempting to get a U-Visa during the time of his arrest.
The rapper’s legal team, which received support and assistance from JAY-Z, issued a statement about next steps and to thank supporters on behalf of their client.
“21 Savage asked us to send a special message to his fans and supporters — he says that while he wasn’t present at the Grammy Awards, he was there in spirit and is grateful for the support from around the world and is more than ever, ready to be with his loved ones and continue making music that brings people together,” the rapper’s lawyers, Charles H. Kuck, Dina LaPolt and Alex Spiro, shared in the statement.
They continued, “He will not forget this ordeal or any of the other fathers, sons, family members, and faceless people, he was locked up with or that remain unjustly incarcerated across the country. And he asks for your hearts and minds to be with them.”
The rapper was supposed to perform at the 2019 Grammy Awards this past weekend (Feb. 10) alongside Post Malone, who wore a shirt in support of his collaborator at the event. The “rockstar” artist, among others, was criticized on social media for opting out of making statement during the televised performance.
As pointed out by TMZ, it still remains unclear why ICE held 21 for as long as they did. He should have been granted bond on the day he was arrested as he was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community, which is the normative procedure for holding someone in jail pending a deportation hearing.
More on this story as it develops.