He was waiting for his son to return from the USS Lincoln. Then Border Patrol arrested him.

Luis Manuel Aviles, a 48-year-old handyman from Key West, Florida, was arrested by US Border Patrol agents. His wife, Argelia Aviles, said he had a permit to work in the United States and had lived there for 19 years, originally from Nicaragua. He was arrested after leaving his house to take his car to the mechanic.

At the time of his arrest, his son, Joshua Aviles, was serving on the USS Abraham Lincoln, having deployed the previous month. According to the Associated Press, the USS Abraham Lincoln had set a US military record for uninterrupted time at sea, raising concerns about supply shortages and mental health among soldiers. Joshua was entering his ninth month on the vessel.

The arrest has been attributed to the Trump administration's efforts to roll back immigration protections for military families. The Associated Press reported that at least six family members of active-duty US troops have been deported, and one self-deported. Argelia Aviles described her husband as a dedicated father who works hard to provide for his family.

Brief written by urgent.news from PBS NewsHour, Associated Press, Winnipeg Free Press — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.