The 39-year-old Cuban musician Degnis Nelson Bofill Miranda, winner of the 2022 Latin Grammy, was detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on August 19 at Miami International Airport in Florida. The percussionist had returned from New York, where he had performed, and was later taken to the Krome Detention Center in Miami-Dade County. Bofill received the 2022 Latin Grammy Award for Best Folk Music Album for Ancestros Sinfónico.
According to ICE, the musician arrived legally in the United States in April 2023, but the agency claims he subsequently violated the terms of his admission to the country. Bofill's wife, Mara Delgado, told CBS News Miami that ICE agents were waiting for the musician at the airport.
Delgado said the arrest caused panic given the possibility of deportation. She expressed concern about the possibility of him being deported, saying she doesn't know when she will be able to see him again. The couple met and formed a family during the period Bofill was in the United States.
