Father of USS Lincoln sailor detained by ICE released from custody

Luis Manuel Aviles, 48, a handyman from Key West, Florida, has been released from federal immigration custody after his detention last Saturday triggered widespread criticism, coming as his son entered a record ninth month of deployment aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.

According to his wife, Argelia, Aviles was arrested after leaving home to take his car to the mechanic. Originally from Nicaragua, he has lived in the US for 19 years and, per his wife, holds a valid work permit.

An immigration judge dismissed his case on Monday, just hours after he had been booked into a detention facility in Miami. His son Joshua announced on Facebook on Tuesday that his father had been released from custody.

The Department of Homeland Security has not explained why Aviles was arrested or why the case was subsequently dropped. Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney who represents military families, described the rapid sequence of filing and dismissing the case as "super unusual".

The arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile immigration detentions involving close relatives of enlisted US service members amid the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement push. Lawmakers have recently opened a congressional investigation into the practice at the Department of Homeland Security.

Record time at sea

Joshua Aviles wrote on Facebook on Saturday that he had been working 12-hour days without a break since the USS Lincoln departed US waters in November. The navy confirmed that his duties aboard the carrier involve physically demanding work, including moving aircraft on deck.

The USS Abraham Lincoln recently set a US military record for uninterrupted time at sea, raising concerns about supply shortages and declining mental health among crew members. The carrier is currently being relieved in the Middle East by the USS George Washington.