Luis Manuel Avilés spent months waiting for his son to return from one of the longest and most punishing deployments in the U.S. Navy's recent history. Now, as that homecoming approaches, Aviles is in immigration custody and the federal government is trying to deport him.
Border Patrol agents detained the 48-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant Saturday in Key West, Florida, after he left home to take his car to a mechanic, his family told the Associated Press.
His son, Joshua Aviles, learned about the arrest while serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East. Joshua said he has spent more than 250 days at sea, working shifts of at least 12 hours as the aircraft carrier supports U.S. military operations during the war with Iran.
"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," Joshua wrote in a Facebook post.
"I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE."
Luis Aviles has lived in the United States for 19 years and works as a handyman in Key West. His wife, Argelia Aviles, said he has a work permit. Joshua said his father also has a Social Security card and driver's license and that the family has been pursuing permanent residency for him.
Those documents do not necessarily establish permanent legal status. A work permit can allow someone with a pending immigration case to work legally without preventing the government from initiating deportation proceedings.
The family said Luis does not have a criminal record. In its public response, the Department of Homeland Security did not accuse him of committing a crime beyond an alleged violation of immigration law.
DHS confirmed that Border Patrol, not ICE, made the arrest. Luis was subsequently placed in ICE custody, where the department said he would remain while the government seeks to remove him from the country.
"Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation's laws," DHS said. The department added that the Trump administration "does not pick and choose which laws to enforce."
Joshua said the detention has left him struggling to concentrate on his military responsibilities after more than eight months without a break from his demanding schedule.
"This is heartbreaking for me," he wrote. "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."
"My dad's only 'crime' was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life," he added.
The Navy did not immediately respond to questions about Joshua's situation. The Pentagon directed inquiries to the service branch.
His sister, Katherine Delgado, said Joshua enlisted partly because the family believed his military service could help their father secure legal status. She said her brother wanted Luis to stop living with the constant fear of being detained.
A program known as military parole in place allows some undocumented parents, spouses and children of active-duty personnel and veterans to pursue legal status without first leaving the United States. Approval is discretionary, and not every military family qualifies.
The program dates to the George W. Bush administration and was later formalized under President Barack Obama. It remains available, but average processing times have more than doubled to approximately 12 months under Trump, according to USCIS figures cited by the AP.
The Trump administration also adopted a policy in April 2025 stating that military service by a relative does not, by itself, protect an immigrant from enforcement.
Aviles is now part of a growing group of military parents and spouses swept into the administration's deportation campaign. An AP investigation identified at least 52 immediate relatives of active-duty service members detained since Trump returned to office. At least six were deported, one left voluntarily and eight remained in custody when the review was published.
The government does not track those cases, meaning the actual number may be considerably higher.
Military and immigration experts warn that the detentions can affect readiness by forcing service members to divide their attention between their assignments and family emergencies. Some troops have taken leave or delayed deployments after a spouse or parent was detained.
Joshua cannot do that easily. He remains aboard a carrier that has spent a record period continuously at sea amid reported concerns about food, equipment and sailors' mental health. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has disputed accounts of deteriorating conditions aboard the ship.
Luis had been counting the months until his son returned. When the deployment passed the six-month mark, his wife said, he became increasingly distressed. He was looking forward to embracing Joshua for the first time since late 2025.
Instead, the sailor may return to a home without his father.
"Dad, I don't know where you are right now, but know that I am doing everything I can to bring you back home," Joshua wrote. "Please stay strong. I'm coming home, Dad."
