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21 Savage: Young undocumented immigrants should be ‘exempt’

Oct 4, 2019 | 3:05 AM

LOS ANGELES — Rapper 21 Savage says undocumented immigrants who lived in America as children should automatically become U.S. citizens.

The Grammy-nominated artist who was held earlier this year in federal immigration custody also told The Associated Press on Thursday night that undocumented immigrants like him shouldn’t have to endure the lengthy process to obtain visas.

He spoke in an exclusive interview before receiving an award from the National Immigration Law Center.

NILC honoured 21 Savage for being an advocate for immigrant justice. He was arrested in February in what U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said was a targeted operation over his expired visa.

He was released after 10 days in a Georgia detention centre.

The rapper, whose given name is She’yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, is a British citizen who moved to the U.S. when he was 7.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jonathan Landrum Jr. on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MrLandrum31

Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press