Luis Manuel Aviles, the father of a U.S. Navy sailor currently aboard a record-setting deployment, has been released from immigration custody following his arrest by Border Patrol agents in Florida over the weekend.
Aviles, 48, was arrested during a vehicle stop on Aug. 22. His family said he has lived in the U.S. for nearly 20 years, holds a work permit and Social Security number, has an asylum case pending, and takes blood pressure medication.
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In a statement to Scripps News, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Border Patrol agents arrested Aviles and described him as "an illegal alien from Nicaragua" who "entered the country illegally on an unknown date and location."
Aviles' son, Joshua, announced on social media Tuesday that his father had been released from immigration custody, a day after a judge dismissed his case.
Joshua, a U.S. Navy sailor, said he learned about his father's detention Saturday morning while still aboard the USS Lincoln, which left the Middle East that day without having made a port call in more than 200 days — setting a modern-day record for consecutive days at sea.
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The arrest is the latest in a series of immigration enforcement actions against the families of active-duty service members since the Trump administration rolled back longstanding protections that once shielded military families from deportation. At least dozens of parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops have been detained or deported since ICE rescinded its former policy in April 2025.
