Immigration Agents Tear Apart Military Family, Detain Father of Sailor Serving on USS Abraham Lincoln
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U.S. immigration authorities have detained Luis Manuel Aviles, a legal work permit holder and father of a deployed sailor, exposing the cruelty and injustice of immigration enforcement policies that target even the families of those serving the nation.
Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, was unjustly taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Key West, Florida, after simply leaving his home to drop his car at a mechanic. Aviles, a Nicaraguan immigrant who has contributed to the United States for 19 years as a handyman and holds a valid work permit, was nevertheless targeted, according to his wife, Argelia Aviles.
This callous arrest occurred while his son, Joshua Aviles, entered his ninth grueling month aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed in the Middle East. Joshua, like so many children of immigrants, has been sacrificing with 12-hour shifts for over 250 consecutive days, only to have his family torn apart by the very country he serves.
"Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws," the Department of Homeland Security coldly stated, ignoring the human cost of their actions and the hypocrisy of punishing military families.
This detention is part of a broader, shameful pattern of harsh immigration enforcement that disproportionately harms the relatives of active-duty service members. Reports reveal that at least six family members of service personnel have been deported and one forced to leave, while the government conveniently avoids keeping systematic records of these tragedies.
The so-called military parole-in-place program, which could grant legal status to certain relatives of service members, is deliberately limited and excludes those who have overstayed visas or previously sought status at the border, leaving families like the Avileses vulnerable.
Joshua Aviles shared on social media the emotional devastation of learning about his father’s detention while deployed, highlighting the trauma inflicted by these policies. His sister, Katherine Delgado, joined the military in hopes of improving their father’s immigration prospects and has been sending care packages to the ship, a testament to the resilience and sacrifice of immigrant families.
The Pentagon deflected responsibility by referring inquiries to the Navy, which has failed to respond, while defense officials have previously downplayed the harsh conditions aboard the Lincoln.
Aviles remains in ICE custody, facing the threat of removal, as authorities continue to prioritize punitive immigration policies over basic human decency.