A little more than four months after 21 Savage was arrested by The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), he gave a donation to help others in a similar situation.
During the time of Savage’s arrest, it was revealed that he was born in the United Kingdom, not the U.S. and he was accused of overstaying his visa.
According to NBC News, the rapper donated $25,000 to Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit organization that uses “litigation, education, and other forms of advocacy” to seek justice for “the most vulnerable members of our society.”
The organization also assisted Savage with his immigration case and helped free him from the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Ga. when he walked out on Feb. 13.
The rapper presented SPLC with the check on Friday, and its purpose is to help immigration detainees in the Deep South obtain legal services.
“21 Savage is making this donation public because everyday Americans need to know that ICE is using civil immigration detention as a weapon against immigrants, many of whom, like 21 Savage, have relief from deportation and are able to fix their immigration status,” said Savages’ attorney Charles H. Kuck in a press release.
“Only one in six immigrants detained in the Southeast has access to an attorney in removal proceedings,” added Willemijn Keizer, the director of Institutional Giving at SPLC. “For an immigrant in detention, that legal representation can mean the difference between winning or losing their case, between staying with their family or being forced to return to a place that is no longer home.”
As for Savage’s case, his lawyers argued that he actually didn’t overstay his visa and applied for one that’s been pending for four years.
At the time of his arrest, his attorneys also said the possibility of deportation is ridiculous, because Savage was brought to the U.S. legally at the age of five. Plus, he has children that were born in the States and is gainfully employed by being a successful recording artists.
Savage still faces deportation and his hearing that was supposed to be on April 9 was pushed back. Because according to Kuck, the rapper has to deal with a new set of judges now that he’s no longer detained, so his case has to be assigned.
