Degnis Bofill, a Latin Grammy-winning percussionist and composer who calls Miami home, was detained by ICE agents at Miami International Airport after returning from a performance in New York. His wife, Mara Delgado, says he was briefly allowed to call her before being moved through processing, and a GoFundMe she started to cover his legal fees has already pulled in more than $45,000 from over 500 donors in just two days.
Bofill had just played a show at Pocket Jazz Club in Midtown Manhattan when he flew back to Miami and was taken into custody, according to Miami New Times. An ICE spokesman confirmed the arrest and said, per the agency’s statement, that Bofill had not complied with the terms of his 2023 admission to the United States. ICE also said it would continue identifying, arresting and removing people who violate U.S. law, and encouraged potential targets to leave the country voluntarily, according to the same statement relayed by the outlet.
Delgado told the paper that her husband has an open asylum case pending, and she has separately said he entered the U.S. legally on a visa in 2023, according to a Facebook post reported by CiberCuba. She described the situation as a senseless tragedy for Miami’s Cuban music community. ICE moved Bofill from a transitional hold in Miramar to the Krome North Service Processing Center, the same facility Hoodline has covered before amid oversight scrutiny.
Days Missing From ICE’s Own Database
For several days after his August 19 arrest, Bofill did not appear in ICE’s online detainee locator or in immigration court databases while he sat in the transitional facility, according to Delgado’s Facebook account cited by CiberCuba. That gap reportedly prevented attorneys from formally taking his case until a destination detention center was assigned. The delay meant no one could file appearances or begin bond proceedings during those crucial early days…