Border Patrol Arrests the Father of a USS Lincoln Sailor as His Son Finishes a Ninth Month at Sea

Border Patrol agents arrested Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, on Saturday, Aug. 22, in Key West, Florida, as he left home to take his car to a mechanic, his wife Argelia Aviles said. He is from Nicaragua, has lived in the United States for 19 years, works as a handyman and holds a work permit, she said. His son Joshua was entering his ninth month aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, the carrier that set a U.S. record for uninterrupted time at sea. DHS confirmed the arrest and said Aviles will remain in ICE custody while the government seeks to deport him.

The case tests how far the deportation drive reaches into the families of serving troops. The Associated Press reports the administration has rolled back immigration protections for military families and detained at least dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty personnel; in AP's first accounting of such detentions, which the government does not track, at least six family members were deported and one self-deported.

DHS said Sunday that 'having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation's laws.' The Navy had not responded to a request for comment as of Aug. 23.