Navy Sailor’s Father Detained by ICE While Son Deploys on USS Abraham Lincoln

Luis Manuel Aviles, a Nicaraguan immigrant living in Key West, Florida for 20 years, was arrested by Border Patrol on August 24 during a traffic stop. His son, Navy sailor Joshua Aviles, was nine months into deployment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East when he learned his father faced deportation. The detention underscores a Trump administration shift rolling back immigration protections for military families.

Father arrested despite work authorization

Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, was stopped by Border Patrol near a Publix supermarket as he headed to a mechanic in Key West. According to his family, he holds a work permit, driver’s license, and Social Security card. His wife Argelia and stepdaughter Katty Delgado said he has lived in the U.S. for roughly 20 years and has no criminal record. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest but said Aviles entered the country illegally at an unknown date and location.

Military family caught in deportation crackdown

The Trump administration has rolled back immigration protections for military families, detaining at least dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty troops. According to the AP, at least six family members have been deported and one self-deported. Military parole-in-place allows spouses, children, and parents of active-duty service members to obtain legal status from within the country, but those who overstayed visas or applied for status at the border do not qualify.

Sailor struggles with deployment amid family crisis

Joshua Aviles posted on Facebook that he has been deployed for over nine months aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which set a modern-day record for 200-plus consecutive days at sea. “I don’t know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal,” he wrote. His half-sister told CBS News he is having trouble sleeping and eating, with his focus now on locating his father.

DHS stands firm on enforcement

The Department of Homeland Security stated that having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate immigration laws. “We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce,” a DHS spokesperson said on Sunday. Aviles remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody pending removal proceedings.

Final Thoughts

The detention of Aviles exposes tension between military service and immigration enforcement under the current administration. With at least dozens of military family members detained and at least six deported, the case illustrates how the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda is reaching into households of active-duty troops.

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