Father of USS Abraham Lincoln sailor released from immigration detention
Luis Manuel Aviles, the father of a sailor serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln, was freed after an immigration judge dismissed his case hours after he was detained in Miami.
Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, was released from federal immigration custody on Monday after a judge dismissed his case just hours after he was booked into a detention center in Miami. Aviles, a handyman from Key West, Florida, has lived in the United States for 19 years and holds a work permit. His son, Joshua Aviles, is an enlisted sailor aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for nine months.
The arrest, which occurred on Saturday when Aviles left his home to take his car to a mechanic, drew public criticism after reports linked the detention to the sailor’s extended deployment. Officials have opened a congressional inquiry into the Department of Homeland Security’s handling of immigration cases involving immediate family members of active-duty service members.
"The rapid succession of filed and dismissed charges is super unusual," said Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney who represents military families.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment on the reasons for Aviles’s arrest or release. Joshua Aviles posted on social media that he has been working 12-hour days without a break since the carrier left U.S. waters in November.