Reps. John Garamendi and Salud Carbajal asked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on October 27, 2026, to scrap reported plans to use the Golden Bear for deportations by sea. The proposal remains hypothetical, and the lawmakers cited safety, operational and legal concerns.
The Trump administration is reportedly weighing a refit of the 500-foot Training Ship Golden Bear, docked in Vallejo, California, and other vessels. The New York Times first reported discussions of days-long voyages to Venezuela, El Salvador and Honduras; the San Luis Obispo Tribune cited that report.
The voyages could cost millions of dollars per trip and require security personnel onboard. The administration currently relies mainly on military or commercial flights, along with ground transportation, for removals.
Garamendi said in a news release: “Mark my words, Donald Trump, Markwayne Mullin and ICE will never use the Golden Bear for their mass deportation agenda. Not only is deporting migrants by ship impractical, but it's also deeply inhumane”
The cited rules set out carrier duties, not a ship deployment
Federal regulations describe how officials handle removal transportation and carrier responsibilities. Under 8 C.F.R. § 241.9, a person ordered removed must be offered for removal to the owner or person in charge of the vessel or aircraft, with written notice identifying the basis for removal and class of travel.
The rule also addresses a carrier that refuses to accept someone for removal. The carrier may be charged for detention and transportation costs. At the carrier’s option, the government can retain custody for an additional 7 days beyond the removal order; if arrangements remain unmade by the third day, the government makes them and bills the carrier.
A separate provision, 8 C.F.R. § 241.10, covers people requiring special care when a transportation line bears removal expenses under INA § 241(c)(3). Officials provide the line with Forms I-287, I-287A and I-287B. The line must pay to forward the person from the foreign port to the destination on Form I-287; if it fails to provide required care, officials may hire suitable people at the line’s expense.
These provisions set out carrier obligations. They do not announce a deployment of the Golden Bear.
The Golden Bear has served as a classroom for three decades
The ship has been used by Cal Poly Maritime Academy, formerly Cal Maritime, for three decades. It was the third vessel in the academy’s Golden Bear series, whose cadet-ship history dates to 1946. The academy’s first vessel, Training Ship California State, launched in 1931.
The current ship first went into service in 1996. Students used it as a “living classroom” on two-month summer voyages across the Pacific, traveling as far as Kauai, Guam and Japan. On its final voyage, which left in May, 300 students visited San Diego, Tahiti, Fiji and Honolulu.
Carlos Arencibia, a marine transportation senior and chair of the ASI Maritime Academy Council, said students had not been contacted about the reported plan. He said the ship remains a classroom through the end of the school year, but students do not know whether they can use it next summer.
The academy and lawmakers say they have received no deployment notice
The federal government owns the Golden Bear and other training ships used by Cal Poly Maritime Academy and state maritime colleges, Cal Poly spokesperson Matt Lazier said. The university does not control the ship’s deployment, he said, and decisions about its future use rest with the federal government.
As of October 27, the U.S. Maritime Administration said it had no immediate plans for the ship beyond supporting instruction at its Bay Area campus. Its press office wrote: “We are maintaining the vessel to support the academy's training needs until the new tra[ining ship arrives]”
Arencibia said the academy communicates regularly with the administration, but had heard nothing about a change. He said: “Nothing was brought before them, nothing was told to them at all. We just know it's speculation at this point because we haven't been contacted by anyone”
The ship is expected to be replaced by the Golden State, a National Security Multi-Mission Vessel, in 2027.
Lawmakers and a professor warn about the human and operational risks
Garamendi, a Democrat from Walnut Grove, and Carbajal, a Democrat from Santa Barbara, wrote that converting the 40-year-old vessel from a seagoing classroom into a “floating prison” would be a dangerous misuse of government property. Their letter asked Mullin to end the reported plan, citing what they called “enormous operational, safety and legal challenges.”
Carbajal told Mustang News that the idea represented “another escalation of brutal immigration tactics from the Trump administration.” He wrote that ICE already operates without sufficient transparency or public accountability, and that using ships as floating prisons could open the door to more abuses. He said he opposed using the Golden Bear or another ship for mass deportations and would fight the plan.
Assemblymember Dawn Addis wrote that using a maritime education vessel would undermine the next generation of maritime professionals, who help protect ports and shipping networks and support the national economy.
Political science professor Jared Van Ramshorst questioned the scale of the idea, saying: “It's kind of absurd that we're talking about putting hundreds, if not thousands of people on a [ship] and shipping them to Central or South America”
The last major U.S. operation to deport people by sea took place in the 1950s, when Mexican immigrants were removed by buses, trucks, trains and ships. Seven deportees jumped from a ship and drowned, prompting a mutiny and public backlash. The operation ended in 1954 as funding ran out.
Local organizers report thousands of removals across three counties
The Migration Policy Institute counted 980,000 deportations in the first 18 months of President Donald Trump’s second term. Primitiva Hernández, executive director of 805 UndocuFund, said ICE had taken more than 3,000 people from Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties since January 2025.
Her organization documents local enforcement, posts ICE vehicle sightings and provides financial relief. Hernández said its 24-hour hotline receives “dozens and dozens of reports everyday.”
The Maritime Administration has said the vessel will support the academy’s training needs until its replacement ship arrives.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
