Source: WENN.com / WENN
21 Savage Made A Sizable Donation To The Southern Poverty Law Center
21 Savage just made a donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization that was vital in assisting him in his battle against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The rapper gave the SPLC a $25,000 check that is going to ensure detained immigrants in the South will have access to legal counsel. According to the nonprofit, only about 17 percent of immigrants in Southeast detainment centers have access to an attorney during their removal proceedings. The lack of legal representation leaves individuals vulnerable to terrible situations like family separation and deportation.
Immigration law attorney Charles H. Kuck said the following in a statement:
“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. Creating oppressively adverse conditions of detention, like those in Irwin County, Georgia, far away from family and legal counsel, causes despair and hopelessness, and forces these men and women to give up on their immigration claims. The SPLC, through its Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI) stands at the front line of this fight and supporting this effort lets all Americans know that the Constitution which protects the least of us, protects all of us.”
If you’ll recall 21 was arrested and detained by ICE himself earlier this year. Immigration officials said that the rapper was born in the United Kingdom and was unlawfully present in the United States.
The rapper’s legal team said he had entered the U.S. legally at the age of seven and stayed in the country until he had visited the U.K. in 2005. The rapper returned to the U.S. in July of that year under an H-4 visa, which expired in 2006. He reportedly applied for a visa in 2017; the application was still under review at the time of his arrest. He ended up being released on bond less than two weeks later.