Luis Manuel Aviles waited nine months for his son, Joshua, to come home from the USS Abraham Lincoln — one of the longest continuous deployments in Navy history. Instead of a homecoming, Border Patrol agents arrested Luis in Key West, Florida, on his way to the mechanic, according to his wife, Argelia Aviles. Luis has called the United States home for nearly two decades and holds a valid permit to work here legally. Still, DHS confirms he is now being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as officials pursue his removal from the country.

Luis's arrest comes as the current administration rolls back immigration protections for military families, even though a program called military parole-in-place exists to let the parents, spouses, and children of active-duty service members gain legal status without leaving the country. Joshua, meanwhile, has been standing 12-hour shifts nearly every day of a deployment that has now stretched past 250 days. He joined the Navy in part so his father could "no longer be living in fear of being arrested," according to his sister, Katherine Delgado. Now, Delgado says, her brother will finally come home from deployment — "and he's gonna come home without his father."

No parent should be detained for deportation while their child is serving the country overseas. DHS and ICE should release Luis Aviles and let the family-reunification protections meant for military families actually protect them.

Sign the petition to demand DHS and ICE release Luis Aviles before his son comes home from deployment.