Father of Deployed Sailor Released From ICE Custody
Luis Manuel Aviles Roa was freed days after his son, deployed on the USS Abraham Lincoln, publicized his detention by immigration authorities.
The father of a sailor deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier was released by immigration authorities Tuesday, days after his son went public with the family's ordeal on Facebook.
Joshua Aviles, the sailor, posted on behalf of his family that his father, Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, had been released. "Luis has been released back to our family," the post read. "We are grateful for all of the support for both Luis and Josh throughout this situation. At this moment, our family is taking time to be together."
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the release.
Over the weekend, Joshua Aviles had detailed his father's detention while he himself was deployed in a war zone. "I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE," he wrote in a Saturday post, describing his father as "a hardworking, humble man" with a driver's license, Social Security card and work permit. He said the family had been pursuing a green card application for his father and called the situation "heartbreaking."
"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," he wrote. "My dad's only 'crime' was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life."
Aviles is one of several active-duty service members whose family members have been detained by immigration agents under President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign.
DHS did not dispute Joshua Aviles's account of the arrest. A spokesperson said Border Patrol agents arrested Aviles Roa, described as "an illegal alien from Nicaragua," on August 22 after a vehicle stop in Key West, Florida, and that he would remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
"Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation's laws," the spokesperson said. "Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement. We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce."
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
