ICE decided to arrest 21 Savage MONTHS before he was taken into custody on ...

The decision to deport rapper 21 Savage was made months before he was arrested on Super Bowl Sunday in Atlanta, where he was held without bond because authorities wrongly believed he had a felony conviction.

It is unclear why ICE decided to wait so long before arresting the 26-year-old, real name She'yaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, on February 3.   

But immigration lawyer Matt Cameron, who has been following the case, pointed out that the arrest came shortly after 21 Savage debuted a new song criticizing the Trump administration's child separation policy.  

Rapper 21 Savage was pictured posing with his mother, Heather Joseph, as they prepared to board a private jet following his release from a Georgia ICE prison on Wednesday

Rapper 21 Savage was pictured posing with his mother, Heather Joseph, as they prepared to board a private jet following his release from a Georgia ICE prison on Wednesday

'[Ice] makes the decisions of how and when they pick people up,' The Guardian quoted Cameron as saying.

The agency claimed at the time that the British-born rapper had overstayed his non-immigrant visa and possessed a criminal conviction for drugs - meaning he was not eligible to post bond. 

But 21 Savage's lawyer Charles Kuck said his 2014 felony conviction was sealed and vacated with all charges dismissed in 2018.

21 Savage's arrest came just days after he debuted a new song criticizing the Trump administration's child separation policy on Jimmy Fallon on January 28

21 Savage's arrest came just days after he debuted a new song criticizing the Trump administration's child separation policy on Jimmy Fallon on January 28

According to TMZ, the rapper was held without bond because the court records had not been updated. But even when ICE headquarters in Washington D.C began looking into the case and discovered 21 Savage was not a felon, they reportedly still took the position that the rapper should remain in custody.

The British-born recording artist was released on Wednesday from Irwin County Detention Center after he was granted a $100,000 bond by an immigration judge on Tuesday. 

He must now await a decision over his application to remain in the U.S., filed in 2017, which will take at years to process. 

21 Savage has a good chance of being allowed to stay because he has three young American children, no convictions and has been in the country for around 15 years. 

ICE Officials claimed 21 Savage was held without bond because he had a felony conviction in 2014 for drugs which his lawyers have denied, saying it has been sealed and vacated 

ICE Officials claimed 21 Savage was held without bond because he had a felony conviction in 2014 for drugs which his lawyers have denied, saying it has been sealed and vacated 

But changes made by President Trump to the Obama-era immigration precedent mean immigrants are now being deported while their cases are still pending - and can only return once it has been approved. In many cases it could take a decade.  

Kuck said 21 Savage is next due to appear at an immigration court on April 11. 

In the meantime, he has flown home to Atlanta on a private jet to be reunited with his family.  

He was pictured posing with his mother, Heather Joseph, as they prepared to board the plane on Wednesday.

'Today, 21 Savage was granted a release on bond. He won his freedom,' the law firm representing him, Kuck and Baxter, posted on Facebook.

'(H)e says that while he wasn't present at the Grammy Awards, he was there in spirit and is grateful for the support from around the world and is more than ever, ready to be with his loved ones and continue making music that brings people together,' they said.

He added that he 'will not forget this ordeal or any of the other fathers, sons, family members, and faceless people, he was locked up with or that remain unjustly incarcerated across the country. And he asks for your hearts and minds to be with them.'  

The rapper's birth certificate shows he was born in London on October 22, 1992 at Newham Hospital, to British parents

The rapper's birth certificate shows he was born in London on October 22, 1992 at Newham Hospital, to British parents

ICE officials said the British citizen overstayed his non-immigration visa from 2005. 

His lawyers have said

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