Havana/Cuban rapper Eliécer Márquez Duany, known as The funkyconfirmed Thursday that he obtained permanent residence in the United States, after an appeal process that managed to reverse an initial negative that received from the immigration authorities.
“We are celebrating after so much effort and work the residence; I am an American resident, super happy with today,” said the musician in A video Published in his social networks, in which he appeared with his lawyer, Miguel Inda-Romero.
The lawyer explained that the case was complex because in the Funky file there were alleged criminal records in Cuba that prevented him from adjusting his immigration status. “They invented positions that hindered his residence, but we could demonstrate that they were manufactured,” he said in an interview for Telemundo 51. “We had to appeal, reopen the case and request a forgiveness that was finally approved.”
Cuban -American congresswoman María Elvira Salazar celebrated the news and assured that her office intervened in the process
The outcome ends months of uncertainty. In May, the artist himself warned that he had “just a month” to resolve his situation and avoid deportation. The United States citizenship and immigration service (USCIS) had initially rejected its application under the Cuban adjustment law, but the defense managed to reopen the file, which allowed it to legally remain in the country while its case was reviewed.
Cuban American congresswoman María Elvira Salazar celebrated the news and assured that her office intervened in the process. “Congratulations because he achieved the American residence. We knew that if the funky deported him to Cuba he was going to end like the other two who wrote Homeland and life With him, ”said Rapper Maykel Osorbo and the plastic artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who did not participate in the creation of the song, but was part of the same group.
Exiled in the United States Since 2021, The funky It is one of the voices of the subject Homeland and lifewhich became hymn of the protests of July 11 of that year and obtained two Latin Grammy. Since then, the rapper has denounced repression against artists and opponents in Cuba.
“Thank God and everyone who put their grain of sand,” concluded the musician in his message, ensuring that he will continue to be committed to the cause of the freedom of Cuba.
