Sailor aboard USS Abraham Lincoln decries father’s ICE detention

A sailor on board the USS Abraham Lincoln on Saturday said his father was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Joshua Aviles has spent roughly nine months deployed at sea in support of the Iran war amid reported shortages of clean water, food and supplies.

“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,” Aviles wrote in a post on Facebook.

“I just got a call that my dad was taken by ICE. If you know my dad, you know he is a hardworking, humble man who is always willing to help anyone if he can. My dad has his driver’s license, Social Security card, and work permit,” he added.

Aviles said his father was waiting to get his green card approved at the time he was detained. DHS confirmed his father, Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, was detained by immigration authorities on Saturday during a vehicle stop in Key West, Fla.

Authorities say they are unsure when he entered the U.S. but say he originated from Nicaragua.

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

“We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce,” a DHS spokesperson said, adding that “work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States.”

Aviles says having his father detained by immigration authorities is “heartbreaking.”

“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,” Aviles wrote in the Facebook post.

“My dad’s only ‘crime’ was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life,” he added.

Aviles’s comments come after Democrats reported that under President Trump, ICE has arrested 125 veterans and attempted to deport at least 282 veterans and family members.

“Aside from legal concerns, DoD’s new practices create a chilling effect on service members and their families, who may avoid accessing bases, medical care, housing offices, or support services — or leave the military entirely — out of fear that routine interactions could lead to detention or deportation,” Democratic lawmakers wrote in their letter , which was obtained by The Hill and sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Doug Collins and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.