The father of an American navy member serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln was detained Saturday by immigration officials, according to family members.
When Luis Manuel Aviles was arrested by immigration authorities, his son was entering his ninth month on the USS Abraham Lincoln — a U.S. navy vessel that has been caught up in the conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and set a U.S. military record for uninterrupted time at sea, stirring concerns about supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among the members on board.
Aviles, 48, was arrested after leaving his house to take his car to a mechanic, according to his wife, Argelia Aviles, who spoke with The Associated Press.
She said her husband, who works as a handyman in Key West, Fla., has a permit to work in the United States. Aviles is originally from Nicaragua and has lived in the U.S. for 19 years.
“He dedicates himself only to work so he can put food on the table at home. He is a good father. He loves his children with all his soul,” Aregila said.
Aviles’ son Joshua Aviles confirmed the news in a post on Facebook, writing, “I’ve been deployed for over nine months, out at sea in the Middle East aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, fighting for a country that has given me everything.”
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“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE. If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can. My dad has his driver’s license, Social Security card, and work permit. We have done everything through immigration to get his green card approved, and we are just waiting,” Joshua wrote.
He called the news “heartbreaking for me” and said that he doesn’t know how he can “mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly being treated like a criminal.”
“My dad’s only ‘crime’ was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life,” he added.
“Dad, I don’t know where you are right now, but I am doing everything I can to bring you back home. I love you with all my heart. Please stay strong. I’m coming home, Dad,” Joshua wrote, addressing his father.
In a statement to Global News, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that the Border Patrol arrested Manuel Aviles on Saturday.
“On August 22, Border Patrol arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, an illegal alien from Nicaragua, after conducting a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida. He entered the country illegally on an unknown date and location. He will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,” the spokesperson said.
“Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws. Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement,” the spokesperson continued. “We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce.”
“We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return,” the statement from the Department of Homeland Security concluded.
Joshua Aviles’ sister, Katherine Delgado, 28, told The Associated Press that her brother joined the military in part because he thought it would improve his father’s chances of getting citizenship and so that he would “no longer be living in fear of being arrested.”
She said that being apart from her brother has been devastating.
“I spent weeks without knowing where he was,” Delgado said.
Delgado said she once heard from her brother that he wasn’t getting enough food, and that she has spent hundreds of dollars to send him care packages with food and hygiene products — some of which never arrived, the AP reported.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration detained dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops as it began to roll back immigration protections for military families, according to an investigation by The Associated Press.
More than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty service members have been detained since Trump took office for a second term. At least six have been deported and one self-deported, the AP found in the first accounting of such detentions. At least eight immediate family members of U.S. service members remain in federal immigration custody.
One of the military’s most highly advertised immigration benefits is “military parole-in-place,” which allows the spouses, children and parents of active-duty service members and veterans to obtain legal immigration status from within the country. Not everyone qualifies: those who overstayed visas or who already applied for legal status at the border, for example.
—With files from The Associated Press
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