ICE Arrests Grammy-Nominated Rapper 21 Savage in Metro Atlanta; Calls for Governor Northam to Resign Continues
WHITFIELD: All right. This breaking news. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, has arrested Grammy nominated rapper 21 Savage in metro Atlanta. An ICE spokesman says the rapper is actually a resident of the United Kingdom who has been in the U.S. illegally. CNN correspondent Nick Valencia joining me right now. What have you learned about the circumstances involving all this, his arrest?</s>NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, I'm a huge hip-hop fan. And I'll start by saying I'm shocked by all of this, just to see what's playing out here in front of us. We just got off the phone with ICE who confirmed that he was taken into custody early Sunday for overstaying his visa. And even if you don't like hip-hop or even if you don't know who this man is that you're looking here on the screen he is Grammy nominated. He's up for record of the year. He's an insane talent and has claimed for years, at least since he started his professional music career, that he was from east Atlanta, Zone 6 specifically, and that he was a gang member, 21 being his gang. All that, according to ICE, is a lie. It's a fake public persona. And this is part of the statement which they released to us here at CNN just a little while ago saying, quote, "Mr. Abraham Joseph initially entered the U.S. legally in July 2005 but subsequently failed to depart under the terms of his non-immigrant visa. And he became unlawfully present in the U.S. when his visa expired in July 2006. In addition of being in violation of federal immigration law, Mr. Abraham Joseph was convicted on felony drug charges in October 2014 in Fulton County, Georgia." So he was taken into custody early this morning, just hours before the Super Bowl. And this man that you're looking at here on your screen, who is nominated for a Grammy, who has sold this persona to his audience and to those who have consumed his music, as a tough guy who grew up on the streets of east Atlanta. According to ICE and the government, he's actually from the UK and overstayed his visa and that's why he was taken into custody.</s>WHITFIELD: So perhaps -- well, there are a couple of things to this, right, so --</s>VALENCIA: There's a lot to this.</s>WHITFIELD: So while he was here in the United States, perhaps part of his story where he says he grew up or had his experiences in Atlanta still could be true, it's just minus the fact that the earlier part of his years was in the UK. That is the country from which he is a citizen.</s>VALENCIA: That's right. And up until today, we all thought -- I mean, those who love his music, I love his music, I listen to his music, I just got his album, that latest when it came out, we all thought he was from east Atlanta, that he was born and raised there. He has given plenty of interviews over time, claiming to be, you know, from the streets, have grown up on the streets of Atlanta, had had friends murdered and killed. And we never had an indication or any inkling that he was from anywhere other than the Atlanta area. A lot of people -- my timeline is filled with tweets saying, is this true? Is this an April Fool's joke? But this is very real.</s>WHITFIELD: So quickly, do we know anything about the circumstances, how he was arrested? What was going on?</s>VALENCIA: No, we know that he was --</s>WHITFIELD: We know this is Super Bowl weekend. Lots of people here and lots of talent here.</s>VALENCIA: That's right. That's right. It was a targeted operation by the feds, according to the statement released earlier to me by Brian Cox, ICE spokesman. So we don't know around the -- what I'd like to know there also --</s>WHITFIELD: Is he performing here?</s>VALENCIA: He was part of a concert series, I believe, earlier this week. You know, he's always performing acts around town and has gigs around town. But what's interesting to me, Fredricka, is he's a convicted felon. He was taken into custody and convicted of drug dealing, I'm sorry, drug charges in October 2014. But he wasn't deported.</s>WHITFIELD: That wasn't discovered then?</s>VALENCIA: Why not? Why are we focusing on him now? And why is there a targeted operation on 21 Savage today? That's what the interesting part, I think.</s>WHITFIELD: OK. All right. Still details to find out.</s>VALENCIA: Absolutely.</s>WHITFIELD: At what point did his visa expire? And perhaps that helped explain that, too. Lots more reporting to do, but, Nick, thank you for bringing all of that you have. Appreciate it.</s>VALENCIA: You got it, Fred.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. The chorus of people calling for the resignation of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam continues to get louder by the day. Politicians and organizations, many of them from Northam's own party, are urging him to step aside after learning of a racist photo on his medical school yearbook page. Northam's response has been a firm no. First, the governor said he was one of the people in the photo that shows someone in a black face and the other in a Ku Klux Klan outfit. That was Friday night when he made that admission. But then yesterday, Saturday, he said he did not believe he was in that picture at all. Northam is defiant in refusing to step down, even ignoring calls from his old boss, former Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe. Here is what McAuliffe told CNN's Jake Tapper.</s>JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, let me ask you, if it's not him in the photo, which is what he was saying, why do you still think he should resign?</s>TERRY MCAULIFFE, FORMER VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: Well, first he said it was Friday night. And if it wasn't him in the photo, he should have said that on Friday. I have no idea what was going on in the governor's office on Friday. I just -- if you're not -- instinctively, you know if you put black paint on your face. You know if you put a hood on. And so if it isn't you, you come out immediately and say, this is not me. Ralph will do the right thing for the commonwealth of Virginia. He will put Virginia first. And I think that will happen relatively soon.</s>WHITFIELD: CNN correspondent Jessica Dean is in Richmond, Virginia. So, Jessica, you have new information about what the governor hoped to accomplish in that press conference yesterday.</s>JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We are hearing from a source with direct knowledge of the governor's thinking who's first saying right now his mind hasn't changed at all. He has zero plans to resign as of today. That he has not moved from that position. That source also saying that the governor wanted to take that press conference and use it as a platform to explain the photo and give people time to evaluate the situation and also give himself time to evaluate the situation and decide what he should do next. That source describing the governor as evaluating this minute by minute, day by day, and that the only thing that would make him resign is if the governor himself thinks that he's not able to effectively govern. And as of right now, the governor thinks he can move forward, and he is remaining very firm that not only was it not him in that photo, that he is not resigning, that he's going to work through this while remaining in office. So while that's going on in the governor's mansion and the governor's head right now and among his advisers, others in the Democratic Party, especially here locally in Virginia, are also talking -- the head of the Legislative Black Caucus was on ABC news this morning, talking with George Stephanopoulos about potential next steps. Here's what he had to say.</s>GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: If the governor does not resign, will you move to impeach?</s>LAMONT BAGBY (D), VIRGINIA LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS CHAIRMAN: George, I hate to even have that discussion right now.</s>STEPHANOPOULOS: Well, it's out there.</s>BAGBY: Yes, I -- I encourage the governor to step aside so we can start the healing process. I'm not at the point where I want to publicly have a conversation.</s>DEAN: So bottom line right now, just no movement in terms of the governor being really dug in on this, thinking that he can remain in office. And so far no movement from the legislature or other state officials to change any of that. So, Fredricka, again, we're just waiting now to see what the next several days bring. Will the legislature itself take action? That's a big question that's looming right now. They meet tomorrow to start the week so we'll see if anything happens.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Jessica Dean in Richmond. Thank you. All right. Still ahead, she just threw her name into the 2020 presidential race last night. We'll talk with Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard about that announcement and what she says she'll do if elected to the White House.