A group of alleged child predators working aboard cruise ships was detained by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) late last month.
Among the five cruise ships stormed by immigration officials was reportedly a Disney cruise docked in San Diego, California.
The law enforcement operation took place between April 23 and 25, as per The California Post, leaving vacationers disturbed by the arrest of the seemingly friendly staffers they interacted with every day.
Highlights
- Employees on a Disney cruise ship docked in San Diego, California, have been detained by immigration agents.
- The crew members were accused of possessing, viewing, or distributing child exploitation material.
- In addition to the Disney employees, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) detained crew members from other cruise lines.
Image credits: Stephen Mease
Trigger warning: This article contains graphic details that may be distressing to some.
Passenger Dharmi Mehta, who was on the Disney Magic ship, recorded the moment when immigration officials escorted handcuffed crew members off the vessel, one of whom had been her server.
Image credits: Dharmi Mehta
“After boarding the vessels and interviewing 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one suspected crew member from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, officers confirmed all subjects were involved in either the receipt, possession, transportation, distribution, or viewing of CSEM or child p*rn*graphy,” a CBP spokesperson stated.
CBP said it revoked the visas of those whose illegal behavior was confirmed and deported them back to their country of citizenship.
Image credits: Dharmi Mehta
A spokesperson for Disney stated that the company has a “zero-tolerance policy” for misconduct and shared that it “fully cooperated with law enforcement” during the operation.
“While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company,” the company said.
The arrests came after Disney announced it would double the number of cruise ships that make stops in San Diego.
At the time of the detentions, the Disney cruise had finished a five-day sailing to Catalina Island and Ensenada.
Image credits: Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
Mehta told NBC San Diego that she and her family were leaving the parking lot at the B Street Pier near the cruise terminal when she saw several crew members being loaded into a white van, surrounded by federal agents.
Before the reasons for the arrests were made public, migrant-rights groups had denounced what they called an “abduction” of the workers by immigration agents.
Benjamin Prado from Union del Barrio claimed that the detainees were being denied due process and access to consular services.
Image credits: Christian Lambert
“This is not an isolated incident,” Prado said. “In fact, it has become a growing pattern, not only here in San Diego but throughout this country.”
The Port of San Diego Harbor Police issued a statement clarifying that it did not have any involvement in the detentions on April 23 or April 25 at the B Street Cruise Terminal.
Image credits: Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
The B Street Cruise Terminal is a federal port of entry, meaning that law enforcement authority for immigration and customs matters rests with the CBP.
Any enforcement actions taken onboard vessels at federal ports also fall under CBP’s jurisdiction.
ICE spokesperson Sandra Grisolia said federal agents had arrested 23 crewmembers from multiple cruise lines at the Port of San Diego as part of Operation Tidal Wave.
“The arrests targeted individuals suspected of involvement with Child S*ual Ab*se Material (CSAM), based on information received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children,” Grisolia stated.
The arrested workers were reportedly transported to Los Angeles for processing.
Four crew members from a Holland America Line ship were also detained by federal agents two days after the Disney ship was stormed, according to KPBS.
A Holland America spokesperson confirmed to USA Today that the cruise line had cooperated with law enforcement investigations.
In September 2025, four Carnival Cruise Line crew members were removed from a ship in Baltimore “based off intelligence that crew members were in possession of child s*xual exploitation material,” CBP said at the time.
Image credits: NBC 7 San Diego
According to the federal agency, the officers confirmed they had received and viewed the exploitation material.
In August, nearly 30 Carnival crew members were detained in Norfolk, Virginia. The Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) reported that the employees had also been accused of possessing illegal material involving children. The workers, who denied any wrongdoing, were reportedly not charged with any crimes.
Image credits: Stephen Mease
A cruise line incident report from the US Department of Transportation states that there were 13 alleged cases of s*xual a*sault on cruise ships between January and March 2026.
However, the real number may be higher. Two-thirds of s*xual a*sault cases are not reported, says RAINN.
