21 Savage's lawyer said his client never tried to hide his immigration status.
The rapper — real name Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph — was taken into custody by ICE on Sunday after it was learned he was actually born in the United Kingdom and overstayed his visa. 21's birth certificate recently surfaced and confirmed he was born in London.
21's lawyer Charles Kuck said his client was arrested "based upon incorrect information about prior criminal charges." The "A lot" rapper picked up a felony in 2014, but the conviction was expunged, according to KIMT3 News.
Kuck also said that it's 21's parents who overstayed their work visas and his client is just a victim of their bad decision. He added that 21 was in the process of getting his own visa so he could stay in the U.S. legally.
“ICE has not charged Mr. Abraham-Joseph with any crime,” read a statement from Kuck. “As a minor, his family overstayed their work visas, and he, like almost two million other children, was left without legal status through no fault of his own."
“This is a civil law violation, and the continued detention of Mr. Abraham-Joseph serves no other purposes other than to unnecessarily punish him and try to intimidate him into giving up his fight to fight to remain in the United States," the lawyer added. "Mr. Abraham-Joseph has US citizen children that he supports and is eligible for relief from deportation. We and he will fight for his release, for his family and his right to remain in our country. No one would expect less from him.”