People don't believe ICE's arrest of 21 Savage in Atlanta is a coincidence
British-born rapper 21 Savage was arrested in Atlanta on Sunday when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials picked him up on an expired visa. Atlanta is also the site of Sunday's Super Bowl LIII.
Twitter is struggling to accept the timing as a coincidence, to say the least.
According to ICE, 21 Savage -- a 26-year-old whose real name is Sha Yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph -- entered the country illegally in 2005, and then proceeded to stay after his year-long immigrant visa expired. (Yes, that means he was around 12 when he arrived.)
ICE initially cited a 2014 felony drug conviction as a reason for the arrest, per CBS News, though a subsequent local report noted that there's no such conviction, and that the rapper's lawyer has been trying to get the "2014 1st offender drug case" sealed. 21 Savage is currently being held in custody in Georgia as deportation proceedings begin.
As news of what happened began to make its way around social media, observers were quick to point out that the arrest came as all eyes are on Atlanta for the NFL's annual Super Bowl championship game. Many seem to think this was no accident, though one local reporter notes that unnamed officials said the arrest wasn't part of a "#SuperBowl-related ICE operation."
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Donald Trump's presidency has been rife with anti-immigrant rhetoric and outright racism directed at people of color. In the midst of all the noise and controversy, ICE has often found itself at the center of various national security debates -- and in news headlines for its sometimes questionable activities.
While none of this proves that ICE's action against 21 Savage in Atlanta on Super Bowl Sunday is some kind of strategic PR move -- and there are reports from anonymous officials, at least, that it wasn't -- plenty of people aren't buying it.
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Topics Super Bowl Politics Celebrities
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
