Father of sailor aboard the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln detained by

The immigrant father of a sailor on board the beleaguered USS Abraham Lincoln was detained Saturday by immigration officials, family members said.

Luis Manuel Aviles, originally from Nicaragua, was detained shortly after 11 a.m. ET in Key West, Florida, where he lives, stepdaughter Katty Delgado told NBC News on Saturday evening.

She said that Aviles has been in the U.S. for roughly 20 years and that she has no knowledge of an arrest history or criminal allegations against him.

“He’s doing everything the right way,” she said.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Sunday that the Border Patrol arrested Aviles during a traffic stop in Key West. The agency said Aviles entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown date and location and would remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.

“We are simply enforcing the laws passed by Congress. This Administration does not pick and choose which laws to enforce,” a DHS spokesperson said.

Delgado said she learned the news from family members, including Aviles’ wife and his son Joshua Aviles, who posted a note about the detention on Facebook. Her stepfather, Delgado said, was arrested near a Publix supermarket as he was headed to a mechanic.

Joshua Aviles said on Facebook that he’s on board the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which is on its way back to the U.S. after its prolonged stretch at sea, including its deployment to the Middle East to engage in the war with Iran.

“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,” he wrote Saturday.

He said that his father is hard-working, giving and humble and that he has a work permit, a Social Security card and a driver’s license.

“This is heartbreaking for me,” Joshua Aviles said. “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.”

Asked to confirm whether Luis Manuel Aviles had a Social Security number, a work permit or pending immigration cases, as his family indicated, DHS told Telemundo, NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language network, that “work authorization or a pending application do NOT confer legal status in the United States.”

The Lincoln left its home port of San Diego on Nov. 25, and, with more than eight months since it visited a port in December, it broke the Navy record for time without a port call. Relatives of sailors on board the carrier have described reports of deteriorating conditions and morale. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said claims about the situation on board have been “completely misrepresented.”

The Navy said Saturday that the Lincoln has officially left the Middle East en route to the West Coast, a journey that could take a month or more.

Joshua Aviles, who told NBC News he has limited internet access, wrote on Facebook that he’s doing…