Navy Sailor's Father Detained by Border Patrol While Son Serves on Record Deployment
Border Patrol arrested a Key West handyman, father of a Navy sailor on the USS Lincoln, as the administration rolls back military family immigration protections.
A Key West, Florida, handyman is in immigration custody after Border Patrol agents arrested him on Saturday, according to his wife. Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, a Nicaraguan national who has lived in the U.S. for 19 years and holds a work permit, was detained as he left home to take his car to a mechanic.
His wife, Argelia Aviles, described him as a devoted father who works solely to support the family. The arrest comes as the Trump administration tightens immigration enforcement, rolling back protections for military families. At least six family members of active-duty troops have been deported, and one self-deported, in the first accounting of such detentions, which the government does not track.
The couple's son, Joshua Aviles, is a Navy sailor aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, currently deployed in the Middle East. The ship recently set a U.S. military record for uninterrupted time at sea, with Joshua working 12-hour shifts for more than 250 days without a break. The extended deployment has raised concerns about food shortages and strain on both crew and equipment.
Joshua learned of his father's detention via a call on Saturday morning. In a Facebook post, he wrote that he was "fighting for a country that has given me everything" and expressed heartbreak, questioning how he can continue working long days knowing his father may be treated like a criminal. His sister, Katherine Delgado, said Joshua enlisted partly to improve their father's chances of citizenship and to free him from the fear of arrest.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that Aviles will remain in ICE custody while deportation proceedings move forward, adding that having a family member in the military is not a "free pass" to violate U.S. laws. The Pentagon referred questions to the Navy, which did not immediately respond. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has previously called reports of conditions aboard the Lincoln "completely misrepresented."
Delgado, who has sent care packages of food and hygiene products to her brother, said he is expected to return home soon. "He's gonna come home without his father," she said. His mother said Luis had been eagerly awaiting his son's return, having not seen him for nine months. "He wanted to hug his son," she said.