Archive · 24 Aug 2026
Immigration Arrest Separates Navy Sailor From His Father
Luis Manuel Aviles is a father who was arrested by immigration authorities in Florida.
He came from Nicaragua and has lived in the United States for 19 years.
His son Joshua is a sailor serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Joshua has reportedly worked long shifts aboard the ship for more than 250 days.
He was upset when he learned that his father had been detained.
Aviles’s family says he was arrested while taking his car to a mechanic.
The government says having a relative in the military does not excuse breaking immigration laws.
The family had hoped that Joshua’s military service would help his father gain more secure immigration status.
Now the father and son may remain separated when Joshua returns home.
Luis Manuel Aviles, a 48-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant, was arrested by immigration authorities in Key West, Florida.
Aviles has lived in the United States for 19 years and holds a work permit, according to his wife.
His son, Joshua Aviles, is serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during a lengthy West Asia deployment.
The arrest came as the Trump administration rolls back immigration protections for military family members.
The Department of Homeland Security said Aviles will remain in ICE custody while the government seeks his deportation.
- Who
- Luis Manuel Aviles, his wife Argelia Aviles, their son Joshua Aviles, and U.S. immigration authorities are central to the story.
- What
- Immigration authorities arrested Aviles and placed him in custody while the government seeks to deport him.
- When
- He was arrested on a Saturday while his son was in the ninth month of a lengthy ship deployment; the Department of Homeland Security issued its statement the following Sunday.
- Where
- Aviles was arrested in Key West, Florida; his son was serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in West Asia.
- Why
- The Department of Homeland Security said the arrest was for enforcing immigration laws, while the family says Aviles is a hardworking father with a work permit whose son’s military service had raised hopes of immigration protection.
Family and Military-Family Advocates
Immigration Authorities
Whether the arrest was justified
Family and Military-Family Advocates
Aviles’s family describes him as a hardworking father with a work permit who was arrested while taking his car to a mechanic. They say his son’s military service was intended in part to improve his father’s immigration prospects.
Immigration Authorities
The Department of Homeland Security said having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate immigration laws and that the administration does not selectively enforce the law.
Impact on the service member
Family and Military-Family Advocates
Joshua Aviles said his father’s detention was heartbreaking and made it harder to continue working long shifts aboard the ship. His family said he is expected to return soon without his father.
Immigration Authorities
The government’s statement focused on immigration-law enforcement and did not indicate that the arrest would be suspended because Aviles’s son is serving in the Navy.
Immigration protections for military families
Family and Military-Family Advocates
The family and reporting point to military parole-in-place as an important protection for qualifying relatives of service members, while noting that not everyone qualifies.
Immigration Authorities
The Department of Homeland Security said the administration is enforcing immigration laws; the article reports that protections for military families have been rolled back and that some relatives do not qualify for military parole-in-place.
- Detainee
- Luis Manuel Aviles, 48
- Country of origin
- Nicaragua
- Time living in the United States
- 19 years
- Location of arrest
- Key West, Florida
- Son’s assignment
- Serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln
- Reported work schedule
- More than 250 days of 12-hour shifts without a break, according to Joshua Aviles
- Government action
- Aviles will remain in ICE custody while deportation proceedings continue
- Relevant protection
- Military parole-in-place can allow some spouses, children, and parents of active-duty service members and veterans to seek legal status from within the country