LOS ANGELES, CA (June 14, 2019) – Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum rapper 21 Savage has donated a $25,000 to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights, immigration detention, and public interest law.
Savage’s $25,000 donation to SPLC follows his ICE detainment earlier this year during which several powerful, national organizations came together to fight the injustice by forming a coalition to seek his release. In an effort to continue his activism, the funds will go to ensure that immigrants in detention centers in the deep south have access to legal representation.
Did you know that “only one in six immigrants detained in the Southeast has access to an attorney in removal proceedings?” “For an immigrant in detention, that legal representation can mean the difference between winning and losing their case — between staying with their family or being forced to return to a place that is no longer home.” This issue is very close to Savage’s heart considering his own legal case with immigration. The Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI), a project of the SPLC, enlists and trains volunteer lawyers to provide free legal representation to detained immigrants facing deportation proceedings across the Southeast.”
In February of this year, 21 Savage was detained by ICE officers, following allegations that he was not born in the United States.For many, it was the first time finding out about Savage’s legal status. However, his legal team has made it very clear that Savage has been working hard to receive proper status. He has a pending U visa application with the USCIS. This U visa was filed as a result of being the victim of a deadly shooting in 2013. That visa was filed in 2017 and remains pending. When granted, the U visa will afford him lawful status in the United States.
“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. – Charles H. Kuck, Managing Partner, Kuck Baxter Immigration LLC
Only one in six immigrants detained in the Southeast has access to an attorney in removal proceedings. For an immigrant in detention, that legal representation can mean the difference between winning and losing their case — between staying with their family or being forced to return to a place that is no longer home. Speaking on this issue publicly is a part of the reason Savage thinks he may have been targeted.
“Been through some things, but I couldn’t imagine, my kids stuck at the border (Straight up)/ Flint still need water (Straight up)/ Niggas was innocent, couldn’t get lawyers (On god)”
21 Savage – “A Lot”
The Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative (SIFI), a project of the SPLC, enlists and trains volunteer lawyers to provide free legal representation to detained immigrants facing deportation proceedings across the Southeast. The SPLC, based in Alabama with offices in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, is a nonprofit civil rights organization dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry, and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of society. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.