Border Patrol arrested Key West father of deployed USS Lincoln sailor; DHS held him for deportation despite no criminal record

On August 22, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, 48, during a traffic stop in Key West, Florida, as he drove to a mechanic near a Publix supermarket. His son, U.S. Navy sailor Joshua Aviles, was then nine months into a deployment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that had set a Navy record for time at sea without a port call. Aviles, originally from Nicaragua, has lived in the United States for roughly 19 to 20 years. His wife, Argelia Aviles, said he holds a work permit; his stepdaughter, Katty Delgado, said he has a pending application for legal status and no criminal record.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest and said Aviles "entered the U.S. illegally," adding that he would remain in ICE custody while the government pursued his deportation. DHS did not dispute the family's statement that Aviles has no criminal record. Asked by Telemundo, NBCUniversal's Spanish-language network, whether Aviles had a Social Security number, a work permit, or a pending immigration case as the family said, DHS responded only that "work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States" -- a response that did not deny the documents exist. DHS said in a statement, "Having a family member in the military is not a free pass to violate our nation's laws... We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce."

The arrest is one of dozens of enforcement actions against parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops since the Trump administration rescinded a prior policy that had treated a family member's military service as a mitigating factor in immigration enforcement. An Associated Press investigation found immigration authorities have detained more than 50 military spouses and parents during Trump's second term, including at least six who have been deported and one who self-deported.