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Feb. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took rapper 21 Savage into custody on Sunday, stating he is from the United Kingdom and overstayed his visa. The 26-year-old rapper, born Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, was arrested in a "targeted operation" after ICE spokesman Bryan Cox said he was an "unlawfully present United Kingdom national" and also a convicted felon, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
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Abraham-Joseph has been placed in "removal proceedings before the federal immigration courts," said Cox.
Cox said Abraham-Joseph came to the United States on a visa in July 2005 and it expired a year later. He had claimed to be from Atlanta.
An ICE official told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that the agency was unaware of his immigration status when he was arrested and convicted of felony drug charges in 2014.
Abraham-Joseph's arrest Sunday morning stemmed from a traffic stop in DeKalb County in which three others were also arrested.
An attorney for Abraham-Joseph issued a statement to Georgia news station WSB-TV, stating his legal team was seeking his release from ICE custody.
"We are working diligently to get Mr. Abraham-Joseph out of detention while we work with the authorities to clear up any misunderstandings," the attorney said. "Mr. Abraham-Joseph is a role model to the young people in this country, especially in Atlanta, Georgia, and is actively working in the community -leading programs to help underprivileged youths in financial literacy."
Abraham-Joseph's most recent album as 21 Savage, I Am > I Was, released in December 2018 and topped the U.S. album chart for multiple weeks in early 2019.
He performed as recently as Thursday in the Super Bowl Music Fest at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
