USS Abraham Lincoln sailor’s father released from immigration custody

A Nicaraguan immigrant who was detained by Border Patrol agents while his son spent more than nine months deployed in the Middle East has been released from custody, his family announced Tuesday.

Luis Manuel Aviles, who has lived in the U.S. for nearly two decades, was released and reunited with his family following his arrest in Florida, which occurred while his son, U.S. Navy sailor Joshua Aviles, was serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, according to an update posted on Facebook .

“We are grateful for all of the support for both Luis and Josh throughout this situation,” the post reads. “At this moment, our family is taking time to be together. While we await the return of our proud Navy sailor, we kindly ask for your understanding and respect.”

Luis Manuel Aviles was arrested Saturday after Border Patrol agents stopped his vehicle in Key West, Fla., the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed. His son said Aviles was waiting to get his green card approved at the time of his detainment.

Officials were unable to confirm when he entered the country but said he came 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.

Aviles’s son went public with the arrest that same day, describing the strain of serving aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which reportedly experienced food shortages and grueling conditions , while his father was in federal custody.

“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’s son wrote on Facebook . “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.”

An immigration judge dismissed Aviles’s case Monday, hours after he was booked into a Miami immigration detention center, according to reports. His family confirmed his release the following day.

The arrest came as the Trump administration faces scrutiny over immigration enforcement involving the relatives of U.S. service members. The wife of an active-duty U.S. soldier was reportedly deported to Honduras this week, making her at least the seventh family member of an active-duty service member to be removed from the country.