A federal judge has blocked the deportation of Rick "Slick Rick" Walters. Judge Kimba Woods gives Walters more time to fight the deportation order stemming from his 5 year stint in prison for a 1990 shooting that left his cousin, the cousin’s pregnant girlfriend and a bystander wounded. Judge Kimba Wood’s ruling will give Walters extra time to fight the INS’s deportation order stemming from the shooting. According to United States law, any non-citizen who serves more than 5 years in prison must be deported. "It’s like a technicality where if you served more than five years, you can be deported [if you are a immigrant]," Rick told AllHipHop.com. "At the time, of the [original] appeals and everything, it reached five years and 12 days." Woods found that there was substantial proof that Walters can prove he should not be deported. "If it wasn’t for me being Slick Rick, in the music industry, I probably wouldn’t get any coverage at all," Rick continued. "So that’s a blessing in disguise. People got to look past music like, ‘He’s a human.’” While the ruling raises the hopes for Rick defeating the case, he will still remain behind bars outside of Tampa, in Bradenton, Florida. I’m considered a flight risk, which we feel is unfair because, if anything, you would be a flight risk when you first catch your case, not after you finished your sentence," Rick continued. "It’s been over six years [since I got out of jail]. I have a wife, kids, a whole family, real estate, a rap career – Slick Rick. Its strange that they open such a heavy watch [against me]." Minister Benjamin Muhummad, President of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network that helped gain congressional support for Slick Rick, was equally excited about the victory. "This was a very important step and victory," Muhummad told AllHipHop.com. "Now we in the hip-hop nation must demand Slick Rick’s. Let’s keep the pressure on President Bush!"
A federal judge has blocked the deportation of
Rick "Slick Rick" Walters. Judge Kimba Woods gives Walters more time
to fight the deportation order stemming from his 5 year stint in prison for
a 1990 shooting that left his cousin, the cousin’s pregnant girlfriend and a
bystander wounded.
Judge Kimba Wood’s ruling will give Walters extra
time to fight the INS’s deportation order stemming from the shooting. According
to United States law, any non-citizen who serves more than 5 years in prison
must be deported.
"It’s like a technicality where if
you served more than five years, you can be deported [if you are a immigrant],"
Rick told AllHipHop.com. "At the time, of the [original] appeals and everything,
it reached five years and 12 days."
Woods found that there was substantial proof
that Walters can prove he should not be deported.
"If it wasn’t for me being Slick Rick,
in the music industry, I probably wouldn’t get any coverage at all,"
Rick continued. "So that’s a blessing in disguise. People got to look
past music like, ‘He’s a human.’”
While the ruling raises the hopes for Rick defeating
the case, he will still remain behind bars outside of Tampa, in Bradenton, Florida.
I’m considered a flight risk, which we feel
is unfair because, if anything, you would be a flight risk when you first catch
your case, not after you finished your sentence," Rick continued. "It’s
been over six years [since I got out of jail]. I have a wife, kids, a whole
family, real estate, a rap career – Slick Rick. Its strange that they open
such a heavy watch [against me]."
Minister Benjamin Muhummad, President of the
Hip-Hop Summit Action Network that helped gain congressional support for Slick
Rick, was equally excited about the victory. "This was a very important
step and victory," Muhummad told AllHipHop.com. "Now we in the hip-hop
nation must demand Slick Rick’s. Let’s keep the pressure on President Bush!"
