21 Savage gave a riveting performance of his latest single, "A Lot," during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon just days before the rapper was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Lyrics featured in the song have caused some folks to argue the 26-year-old rap star was detained because he criticized the agency and the government's mishandling of the Flint water crisis on national television.
Newly-appointed Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has been overwhelmingly critical of ICE, put a spotlight on the potential link between Savage's arrest and his performance on The Tonight Show. The outspoken Democrat quoted the lyrics of Savage's song while retweeting an NPR link detailing Savage's arrest on Sunday.
"'The gas was off, so we had to boil up the water/Been through some things so I can't imagine my kids stuck at the border/Flint still need water/People was innocent, couldn't get lawyer,'" she tweeted on Monday, adding, "21 Savage on last Tuesday's Tonight Show."
“The gas was off, so we had to boil up the water/
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 5, 2019
Been through some things so I can't imagine my kids stuck at the border/
Flint still need water/
People was innocent, couldn't get lawyers."
- 21 Savage on last Tuesday’s Tonight Showhttps://t.co/i28v0M5Kyn
According to ICE spokesman Bryan Cox, Savage, born Shayaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested for remaining in the U.S. with an expired visa, the Atlanta Constitution-Journal reported. Savage came to the U.S. when he was 12 years-old in July 2005 and failed to leave when his visa expired in 2006.
Savage's lawyer Charles H. Knuck released a statement on Monday claiming Savage has "never hid his immigration status" and noted the I Am > I Was rapper was awaiting U-Visa approval after filing for one in 2017.
A progressive New Yorker, Ocasio-Cortez has remained staunchly against ICE as a government entity and has long advocated for the department's abolishment. She was the only Democrat to vote against a bill that would have funded and reopened the government during the longest shutdown back in January because it funded ICE, NBC News reported.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Michigan native, Janice Williams is a graduate of Oakland University where she studied journalism and communication. Upon relocating to New ... Read more
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