When Luis Manuel Aviles was arrested by immigration authorities, his son was entering his ninth month on the 鈥� a vessel that set a U.S. military record for uninterrupted time at sea, stirring concerns about supply shortages and deteriorating mental health among soldiers.
Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, was arrested after leaving his house to take his car to the mechanic, according to his wife, Argelia Aviles. She said her husband, a handyman in Key West, Florida, has a permit to work in the United States. Originally from Nicaragua, he has lived in the U.S. for 19 years.
鈥淗e 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,鈥� said Argelia, 47.
Aviles鈥� arrest comes as the Trump administration rolls back to pursue its , detaining at least dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops.
At least six family members and one self-deported, the AP found in , which the government does not track. One spouse, the who spent more than a month in federal immigration detention, was removed from a deportation flight to Brazil after the AP鈥檚 reporting.
One of the military鈥檚 most highly advertised immigration benefits is 鈥渕ilitary parole-in-place,鈥� 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.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Border Patrol agents arrested Luis Aviles on Saturday in Key West and that he will remain in ICE custody while the government seeks to deport him.
鈥淗aving a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation鈥檚 laws,鈥� the department said Sunday, adding that the Trump administration 鈥渄oes not pick and choose which laws to enforce.鈥�
Aviles’ son said he has been working 12-hour work shifts for more than 250 days without a break on the USS Lincoln, which is deployed in the Middle East. The deployment has raised widespread concerns about the impact on service members who are away from land for long periods, food shortages, as well as the increasing strain on the ship and its equipment.
The Pentagon referred all questions to the Navy. The Navy didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment on Sunday afternoon. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth aboard the Lincoln 鈥渃ompletely misrepresented.鈥�
Joshua Aviles wrote in a Facebook post Saturday that he was still on the USS Lincoln 鈥渇ighting for a country that has given me everything鈥� when he got a call about his father’s detention on Saturday morning.
鈥淭his is heartbreaking for me. I don鈥檛 know how I can mentally continue working 12+ hour days knowing that my dad is somewhere, possibly treated like a criminal,鈥� Joshua Aviles wrote.
Katherine Delgado, 28, Joshua Aviles’ sister, said that Joshua joined the military in part because he thought it would improve his father’s chances of getting citizenship and so that he would 鈥渘o longer be living in fear of being arrested.鈥�
She said being apart from Joshua, who she calls her 鈥渂est friend鈥� and her 鈥渞ide-or-die,鈥� has been devastating.
鈥淚 spent weeks without knowing where he was,鈥� Delgado said. Once she heard from him, and was told that he wasn’t getting enough food, she said, she has spent hundreds of dollars to send him care packages with food and hygiene products 鈥� some of which never arrived.
Joshua is 鈥渟upposed to come home soon,鈥� Delgado said, referring to news that the ship her brother is on in the Middle East. 鈥淎nd he鈥檚 gonna come home without his father.鈥�
The son鈥檚 lengthy deployment has been challenging for Luis Aviles, according to his wife. He told her that he was looking forward to the deployment finally coming to an end. When six months passed and his son didn鈥檛 come back, Aviles was distraught, she said.
鈥淗e was excited,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e wanted to hug his son, as he hadn鈥檛 seen him for nine months.鈥�
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