Father of deployed Navy sailor released from immigration detention after public outcry
Luis Manuel Aviles was freed just days after his arrest sparked controversy over immigration enforcement targeting military families. His son has been serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during a record-breaking nine-month deployment.
Sailor's father freed after immigration detention sparks outcry
The father of a US Navy sailor deployed in the Middle East for nine months has been released from immigration custody following widespread criticism of his detention, according to family members.
Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, was arrested Saturday after leaving his Key West, Florida home to take his car to a mechanic. An immigration judge dismissed his case Monday, just hours after he was booked into a detention center in Miami, according to Department of Justice records.
His son, Joshua Aviles, serves aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been at sea for more than 272 consecutive days without a port call, setting a modern US Navy record. The vessel departed San Diego in November 2025 and was originally deployed to the Eastern Pacific and South China Sea before being diverted to the Middle East in January 2026.
The Lincoln's crew of more than 5,000 sailors and Marines has experienced exceptionally limited shore leave during the deployment. Personnel stepped foot on land only twice since November: once in Guam in December, where many were not allowed to disembark, and once in Oman in July, where sailors were restricted to a secure compound.
Joshua Aviles posted on Facebook Saturday that he had been working 12-hour shifts without breaks since the deployment began. The US Navy confirmed he serves aboard the Lincoln in a physically demanding role moving aircraft on the carrier deck.
Mental health concerns mount
The extended deployment has raised concerns about crew welfare. In early August, a sailor went overboard from the Lincoln and was rescued within an hour in what the Navy described as a mental health episode.
The carrier is now being relieved by the USS George Washington, which arrived in the Middle East on August 21, marking the fourth carrier strike group to cycle through the region. The Lincoln's deployment, while record-breaking for consecutive days at sea, falls short of the USS Gerald R. Ford's 326-day deployment that concluded in May 2026.
Immigration enforcement under scrutiny
Aviles' arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile immigration detentions involving immediate family members of active-duty US service members under President Donald Trump's immigration policies.
Between January 20, 2025 and January 26, 2026, immigration authorities detained 125 military veterans and arrested more than 150 immediate family members of service members, according to Department of Homeland Security data provided to Democratic senators.
In April 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement rescinded its previous policy that treated military service as a significant mitigating factor when pursuing immigration enforcement actions, replacing it with a policy offering less protection to service members and their families.
More than 60 Democratic lawmakers signed a letter in early August to the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and Department of Veterans Affairs launching a congressional investigation into the arrest, detention, and deportation of non-citizen service members, veterans, and military families.
Argelia Aviles, Luis Manuel's wife, said her husband works as a handyman and holds a valid US work permit. Originally from Nicaragua, he has lived in the United States for 19 years.
The Department of Homeland Security did not provide immediate comment on why Aviles was arrested or why charges were subsequently dismissed. Immigration attorney Margaret Stock, who represents military families, called the rapid filing and dismissal of charges highly unusual.
