Navy sailor’s father faces deportation after Key West arrest

The father of a U.S. Navy sailor serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln was detained by immigration authorities in Florida over the weekend, leaving his son to learn of the arrest while deployed on an aircraft carrier returning from the Middle East after more than nine months at sea.

Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, a native of Nicaragua who lives in Key West, was arrested Saturday during a traffic stop, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed. The agency said Border Patrol made the arrest shortly after 11 a.m. and that Aviles entered the United States illegally at an unknown date and location. He remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody while facing removal proceedings, DHS said.

Family members said Aviles has lived in the United States for roughly 20 years. His stepdaughter, Katty Delgado, told NBC News she has no knowledge of any arrest history or criminal allegations against him.

“He’s doing everything the right way,” Delgado said.

DHS did not dispute the family’s statements that Aviles lacks a criminal record, CBS News reported. But the department said his family ties do not shield him from immigration enforcement.

“Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation’s laws,” a DHS spokesperson said. “Military service by an immediate relative does not automatically grant parole, lawful status, or immunity from immigration enforcement.”

The department also said: “We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce.”

Delgado said Aviles was arrested near a Publix supermarket while heading to a mechanic. She said she learned about the detention from relatives, including Aviles’ wife and his son, Joshua Aviles, who posted about it on Facebook from the USS Abraham Lincoln.

“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE,” Joshua Aviles wrote. “If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can.”

He said his father has a work permit, a Social Security card and a driver’s license. Asked by Telemundo about the family’s statements that Aviles had work authorization or pending immigration matters, DHS said “work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States.”

Joshua Aviles wrote that he has been deployed for more than nine months aboard the Lincoln in the Middle East.

“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,” he wrote. “This is heartbreaking for me. 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.”

The USS Abraham Lincoln, based in San Diego, left its home port on Nov. 25. The Navy said Saturday that the carrier had officially left the Middle East and was heading to the West Coast, a trip that could take several weeks or more. NBC News reported that the ship, with more than eight months since its last port visit in December, broke the Navy record for time without a port call.

Relatives of sailors aboard the Lincoln have described reports of deteriorating conditions and morale. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said claims about the situation on board have been “completely misrepresented.”

Aviles’ arrest comes amid a broader immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump. NBC News reported that recent arrests have included children and spouses of service members, a San Diego Padres minor-league catching coordinator and a grandmother from India who is a schoolteacher with a green card. An Associated Press investigation cited by NBC News found that immigration authorities have detained more than 50 parents and spouses of service members during Trump’s second term.

Programs for military families can sometimes offer immediate relatives protection from deportation, but U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services says those discretionary options are handled case by case. It was not immediately clear whether Luis Manuel Aviles was in such a program.

Joshua Aviles, who told NBC News he has limited internet access, wrote that he is doing everything he can to get his father released.

“I love you with all my heart. Please stay strong. I’m coming home, Dad,” he wrote.