Rapper 21 Savage was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the weekend.
ICE claims the rapper, whose real name is Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is actually a citizen of the United Kingdom despite his claiming to have been born in Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Abraham-Joseph, 26, was detained in a “targeted operation” early Sunday, an ICE spokesman told the paper.
He is known as a local metro Atlanta act, even donating supplies to thousands of DeKalb County students last year, according to the Journal-Constitution.
But ICE says Abraham-Joseph is an “unlawfully present United Kingdom national," the paper reported, and the spokesman said that he has been put in “removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts.”
According to ICE, Abraham-Joseph entered the country as a child in 2005 on a visa that expired the next year, but he never left.
The rapper's lawyer, Dina LaPolt, told TMZ in a statement that the arrest is a "misunderstanding."
“We are working diligently to get Mr. Abraham-Joseph out of detention while we work with authorities to clear up any misunderstanding.
"Mr. Abraham-Joseph is a role model to the young people in the country — especially in Atlanta, Georgia ,and is actively working in the community leading programs to help underprivileged youths in financial literacy.”
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