ICE releases father of U.S. Navy sailor serving on USS Abraham Lincoln

Luis Manuel Aviles Roa, the father of a U.S. Navy sailor onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, was released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday, after the service member called the arrest “heartbreaking,” his family told CBS News.

Aviles Roa, a native of Nicaragua, was arrested by federal immigration officials on Saturday, according to the Department of Homeland Security, which said the man had entered the country illegally. 

The arrest gained widespread national attention after Aviles Roa’s son, Joshua Aviles, revealed he had learned his father had been taken into immigration custody while on his 9th month serving on the USS Lincoln, which has set records for uninterrupted time at sea. The aircraft carrier has also been at the center of reports of morale issues and subpar conditions faced by sailors.

“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 a Facebook post over the weekend. “My dad’s only ‘crime’ was coming to this country to give my siblings and me a better life.”

Katty Delgado, Aviles’ half-sister, told CBS News on Tuesday afternoon that ICE had released Aviles Roa, though the conditions of his release were not immediately clear.

CBS News has reached out to DHS seeking comment.

Aviles Roa’s arrest was the latest example of military families being caught up in President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Since his administration launched its mblock deportation campaign and reversed limits on ICE arresting military spouses and parents, such arrests have become more common. 

On Monday, ICE deported the wife of active-duty U.S. Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez to her native Honduras. DHS said Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo entered the U.S. illegally in 2016, and had “received due process.”