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At the beginning of 2019, 21 Savage was the most popular artist of the country: I am> I was, his last album, spent two weeks on the Billboard 200.
Less than a month later, the rapper, whose real name is She'yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, risks being expelled from the country. On Sunday, he has been arrested American (ICE), which claims that Abraham-Joseph, a British national, has exceeded his visa for a long time and that he can therefore be deported.
This change is singular, even in view of the modern standards of modern eyebrow politics. Abraham-Joseph's rap career was inextricably linked to Atlanta, and virtually none of his fans knew he was born outside of the United States (although there have been rumors on Twitter, circulating since years, which would have been found after the news of his arrest). And while Abraham-Joseph was not always known for his vocal political statements in interviews, his fame – the big single "A Lot" is number 26 this week – allowed him to make his case a referendum on aggressive anti-immigrant policies led by ICE under the Trump administration. Black Lives Matter, Jay-Z and Georgia member Hank Johnson all offered public support to Abraham-Joseph.
Despite all this attention, the facts surrounding his arrest remain opaque, even totally contradictory. Abraham-Joseph was apprehended in Atlanta the same day as another rapper, Young Nudy, but the connection between the two arrests remains unclear. ICE claimed that Abraham-Joseph had already been sentenced, but the rapper's legal team responded in the negative. ICE said that Abraham-Joseph arrived in the United States at the age of 14, but his legal team said that he had arrived at the age of seven.
Adding to the confusion, even lawyers who seem to be on the same side do not always present the same information in the same way or agree on the correct interpretation of past events. In a statement on Tuesday, Abraham-Joseph's lawyers said they had applied for a U visa, a statute that protects victims of crime and their families, in 2017. (The rapper was shot down six times in 2013 during an attack that killed a friend.) statement on Wednesday According to entertainment lawyer Alex Spiro, who was chosen by the Jay-Z Roc Nation as a legal hitting power, said that Abraham-Joseph had applied for status in 2015 and then reapplied in 2017. (Spiro is renowned for his famous clients, not for his work on the right of immigration.) Similarly, during a subsequent interview with ComplexSpiro said that the previous sentence of Abraham-Joseph had been annulled. But the lawyer who did the job of expelling this charge for the rapper tells Rolling stone it is not correct.
If one thing is perfectly clear – and essential to the outcome – is that Georgia offers one of the worst environments for immigrants to the country. "Georgia has been at the forefront of anti-immigrant repression," said Azadeh Shahshahani, director of Georgia's National Security and Immigration Rights Project. "Georgia is on a whole new scale when it comes to finding new ways to punish immigrants."
A report co-authored by Shahshahani said that "the ICE regional office in Atlanta had carried out more than 80% arrests in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period of the previous year, which accounted for the largest increase in all field offices in the country. immigrants appear before a judge, their chances of stay are slim. "The immigration court itself is one of the worst in the United States," says Julio Moreno, who practices immigration law in Georgia. "Refusal rates here are much higher than anywhere else – the refusal rate of asylum is in the 90s, where the national average is about 45 to 50%."
It almost certainly means it will be a daunting task for the Abraham-Joseph team. "His mother arrived with an H-2 visa, a job-type visa for service industries," says Moreno. "21 registered on an H-4, which is a derivative of that of a child. His mother has just pbaded his visa. After a while, you are supposed to go back. she never left. This is in itself a violation of immigration. This is his main problem. "
According to Jeremy McKinney, an immigration lawyer in North Carolina and a national agent of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the first step in such a case is the initial determination of custody. "We know the result: they chose to hold without bail," says McKinney. "But according to what Savage's 21 lawyers have said, he's eligible for bail."
It's troubling, but not surprising. "The southeastern region of ICE, which includes the Carolinas and Georgia, is extremely active, very aggressive and tends to sin in restraint," says McKinney.
The incarcerated detention of Abraham-Joseph may be due, in part, to the rapper's previous confrontation with the law. ICE told Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Abraham-Joseph was part of a criminal drug case in 2014. The rapper's lawyers are convinced that their client has a clean criminal record. "To be clear, he has no criminal convictions," wrote Charles Kuck, senior lawyer of Abraham-Joseph, to Rolling stone.
The 2014 incident culminated in a conviction for possession of a controlled substance, according to attorney Jacoby Hudson. In 2017, Abraham-Joseph brought in Hudson to have the charge overturned by filing the documents with the Fulton County Attorney's Office.
However, contrary to some reports, "the sentence was not overturned," said Hudson. "It was just sealed. So basically it does not have a criminal history for that … Emptying the country would mean [Abraham-Joseph] never took the call. He took a plea. He completed the terms of his sentence [12 months of probation]and that was all.
This small dispute over legal jargon may seem absurd to anyone who does not have a law degree, but it can make a crucial difference in immigration courts. "Expulsion really has no value for immigration procedures," says Moreno. "A write-off is more useful if you had a DUI in your file a few years ago and you delete it, it may not happen if someone checks the background." But for immigration purposes, a write-off is always a conviction. The only way to avoid this is if you cancel this conviction on constitutional grounds. "
Although Abraham-Joseph remains in detention, his lawyers can lobby for a binding motion. "At a bail hearing, an immigration judge is supposed to consider only two things," says McKinney. "Number one, is this person a danger to the community? Second, does this person have a risk of flight?
When the judge considers the first factor, the 2014 Abraham-Joseph incident could be reconsidered. "At this point in the business [in Atlanta], the burden is really low for the government, "adds Moreno. "And with the judges we have here, it will be very difficult to convince them [of Abraham-Joseph’s good standing] after he entered a plea [in 2014] and the police report [from that incident] more than likely shows that there was a significant amount of drugs in his vehicle. "TMZ also reported on Thursday that the police believe that Abraham-Joseph was in possession of a loaded weapon at the time of his arrest; The rapper's lawyers said the weapon was "not his."
If Abraham-Joseph is still denied bail, he has another option: what is called "cancellation of dismissal". For that, he must be able to meet four criteria, according to McKinney: "10 years of continuous physical presence, good morals. character during the last 10 years, no criminal conviction disqualifying and showing the applicant's citizen or a parent / spouse / resident child that the applicant would experience exceptional and extremely unusual difficulties [in his absence]. McKinney says it would probably take more than six months for the cause of Abraham-Joseph to be heard.
21 Savage's community service could help establish its "good moral character". Drew Findling, Atlanta's defense attorney who represented Offset, Gucci Mane and others (but not 21 Savage), was present in Atlanta last year where 21 Savage spoke to "over 600 high school students Financial literacy. "He made a heartfelt presentation that was well received by the Atlanta community," Findling said. "And by the way, this program was sponsored by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office."
Even though Abraham-Joseph is on bail, it is still unlikely that anything will happen quickly. McKinney predicts that "it will take years to resolve because our courts are so much behind schedule".
The potential path to legal permanent residence that Abraham-Joseph's lawyers pointed out, and which the rapper has requested, is what is known as a U visa. These are reserved for foreign nationals (and members of their family who meet the requirements) who have been victims of serious offenses. They then help law enforcement to investigate the offenses in one way or another. The cooperation must be certified by the police, the prosecution or a judge.
Moreno estimates that there are more than 190,000 pending applications for an annual quota of 10,000 U visas. There is an expectation for initial approval that can extend to several years, after Applicants are considered "deferred actions" and are allowed to work legally. Lawyers say that after that, it may take another eight to ten years to get the real status, because of the large backlog of applicants.
Abraham-Joseph and his co-applicants voluntarily disclose their personal information and illegal status as part of their application for legal residency, but this was considered in the past as a relatively safe act. This may not be the case, according to some immigration lawyers. "Once, once in this queue, you're not really [seen as] a risk, you are not a priority [for ICE]"Says Michele Lampach, a lawyer specializing in immigration law for UnLocal, a non – profit immigration law firm. "I think in this administration, all bets are open."
Under the Trump administration, a new policy has been put in place that places claimants in an eviction procedure if their claim is rejected. In addition, some lawyers fear that U visa applicants are targeted by immigration authorities. "The service center that handles these visas usually deals with victims of crime and victims of domestic violence and rarely shares this information. Previously, it was clear that they would never share this information with the forces of order, "Moreno said. "During the last two years, under this administration, rumors circulated that they no longer complied with this rule and they were willing to share some information from law enforcement agencies, especially in the case of a criminal problem. or open mandate. "
The U visa is not the only means by which Abraham-Joseph could legally stay in the United States. The lawyers also mention the O visa, which is reserved for people "who have extraordinary abilities in science, art, education, business or athletics, or who have a proven track record in the film or television sector. who have been recognized nationally or internationally for these achievements. The house of Abraham Joseph should be abroad, but he would be able to come to the United States for up to three years, with the possibility of extending it indefinitely for a year.
"It's a good option for me, baduming it does not have complex criminal prosecutions [on his record]"She thinks it would be easier for Abraham-Joseph to prove his eligibility to O than to prove "Exceptional and extremely unusual difficulties for his qualified relatives", the legal standard. Moreno agrees. "This type of visa has an exemption that you can [use to] give up many grounds for expulsion he has, "says the lawyer. "It may be a better option for him, apply for it and perhaps be able to return temporarily to the United States."
If this is not already obvious, the US immigration system is Byzantine and loaded with deportation mines. "It's certainly discriminatory and [it] has had an impact on the separation of families for a very long time, "says Lampach. "If you have violated immigration laws in a particular way, there is often no recourse available to you. It's an incredibly broken system for that reason, [one] it does not really make sense with the lives of people in the United States. "
Several lawyers tell Rolling stone Abraham-Joseph's lawyer, Charles Kuck, is one of the best in the country in immigration law. Still, says Moreno, "it will be a very difficult business."
"It's so confusing, it's so punitive, it's so draconian," Lampach said. "This is the basis of this system."
Additional reports from Simon Vozick-Levinson
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