Dancehall selector Foota Hype has gone missing in action for the past five days, and his fans are worried that he has been captured by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
Foota Hype, who has declared himself the global Viral King, and who makes daily Instagram posts whether via live feed, regular posts, or on his IG stories, has not made a post for the last five days. His last post was on Saturday, which pictured him aboard the Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise, clad in monochromatic black with the caption “Doreen son @welcometojamrockreggaecruise F.H.M.”
“Hopefully Foota get bail,” one woman posted in the comments section on Foota’s last post, while one fan wrote: “Free Foota.”
Some concerned persons also queried whether all was well with the entertainer, who had been uncharacteristically quiet. “Homie Is everything good with you cuz yuh nevah quiet suh,” one follower asked.
Another follower though, openly declared: “ICE still have him,” fueling further speculations that the selector was indeed in the custody of the immigration organization, which was created in 2003 through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the former U.S. Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
ICE is responsible for immigration enforcement, combating transnational crime, and preventing terrorism. The organization has more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices in the United States and across the world.
According to ICE’s website, the organization’s mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration that threaten the country’s national security and public safety. This, it says, is undertaken through the enforcement of more than 400 federal statutes and a focus on smart immigration enforcement, preventing terrorism and combating the illegal movement of people and goods.
Among the reasons given as to why a person can be detained by ICE are: if the detainee has committed a crime or multiple crimes; arrived at the border without a visa prior to formally applying for asylum or refugee status; has a deportation order on record, either pending or past due, or missed prior immigration hearing dates.
If Foota has indeed been captured by ICE, he joins a long list of Jamaicans who have been detained by the agency this year.
Some followers have not been very tactful in their remarks and found news of the likely detention of the entertainer amusing.
“Him beta mek sure the news fake…cause a wah day mi hear him a tell Kartel him better shut up cause him kno weh him deh” one woman said, while one young man jeered: “Hope yuh nuh drop the soap brogad ….bless up”.
