(BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, UNITED STATES) Around 35 protesters gathered outside the Baltimore Cruise Terminal on September 14, 2025, demanding answers after four Filipino crew members were seized from the Carnival Pride and deported a week earlier while the ship was docked in the city. Waving handmade signs and chanting in English and Filipino, the crowd accused U.S. authorities of stripping the workers of basic rights and faulted Carnival Cruise Line and Philippine officials for failing to defend them.
Organizers said the case shows how quickly migrant seafarers can be removed from the United States without lawyers, public notice, or any chance to explain their side.
Rally and organizers
The September 14 rally, held outside the Carnival Cruise Line facility used by the Carnival Pride, was led mainly by Filipino organizations, including the Tanggol Migrante Movement, a national alliance formed earlier this year to defend overseas Filipino workers in danger.
Members of the Malaya Movement Baltimore chapter and other local allies joined them at the terminal, which sits on Baltimore’s industrial waterfront. Speakers took turns on a small sound system, describing what they called a pattern of “silent deportations” of documented Filipino seafarers from East Coast ports, while passengers continued to board nearby for leisure cruises.
What organizers say happened on September 7
According to organizers, the four workers at the center of Sunday’s protest were taken off the ship on September 7, 2025, when federal agents came aboard while the vessel was in port.
- The workers were part of the ship’s hospitality staff.
- Advocates say they were first questioned about alleged drug possession.
- They were then pressed into signing written statements linked to accusations of child pornography.
- The workers were removed from the Baltimore Cruise Terminal area and deported.
Organizers also said they still do not know whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) carried out the operation.
Due process concerns and witness statements
Organizers at the rally said the men never saw a lawyer and were not given proper immigration hearings before being flown out of the country.
Philip Coronado, a former Filipino seafarer who addressed the crowd, urged both U.S. and Philippine officials to review what happened:
“My call is that their due process be upheld and respected. And if they’re proven not guilty, they need assistance, and we need to approach organizations and agencies that will provide it.”
While officials have released almost no public information about the case, Filipino organizers say it fits a broader pattern they have tracked over the past year.
Allegations of a broader pattern
Organizers allege that more than 100 documented Filipino seafarers have been deported from Norfolk, Virginia, and other U.S. ports in recent months, often after quiet raids on cruise ships.
- In one incident in August 2025, advocates say U.S. Customs and Border Protection removed 28 Filipino workers from a Carnival vessel while it was docked in Norfolk.
- Many of these cases, organizers say, ended with rapid deportations and little access to legal support.
Mark Rodrigo, education officer for the Malaya Movement Baltimore, called the Baltimore deportations “a heinous act” and faulted both U.S. law enforcement and Carnival Cruise Line. He also criticized the perceived silence from the Philippine ambassador in Washington and from the government in Manila.
For Rodrigo and other speakers, the case highlights how vulnerable migrant workers remain even when they hold proper documents and work for large global companies that depend on their labor.
Corporate and diplomatic responses
In a brief written statement, Carnival Cruise Line said only that the deportations were “a law enforcement matter” and that the company “always” cooperates with authorities. The statement, issued through senior public relations manager Matt Lupoli, read:
“We defer to the authorities for further comment.”
The company did not answer protesters’ demands for more detail about what happened on board the ship on September 7 or whether it provided any legal help or consular contact to the four men before they were removed from the United States 🇺🇸.
Philippine diplomats had also not publicly responded by the time of the protest, despite the growing outcry from Filipino groups. The Philippine Embassy in Washington had yet to issue a statement, leaving community organizers to fill the gap.
Leaders of the Tanggol Migrante Movement have urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to raise the issue with U.S. officials and to push for clear promises that Filipino workers will not be deported to third countries without proper review. The protest in Baltimore was timed just days before Marcos’s planned trip to the United States for the United Nations General Assembly, where Filipino organizers said they plan to press the matter.
Broader implications for seafarers
Beyond the immediate call for justice for the four deported crew members, Sunday’s protest also addressed wider fears felt by migrant workers aboard cruise ships that sail regularly in and out of U.S. ports.
Organizers said Filipino crew often spend months at sea far from their families, only to face the risk that a single raid can end their jobs and separate them from the income they send home.
According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, seafarers on international routes can be subject to fast immigration decisions when a vessel enters U.S. jurisdiction, placing them in a gray area between labor rules, company policies, and border enforcement.
Advice and next steps from advocates
Advocates at the demonstration urged crew members that call at Baltimore and Norfolk to learn about their protections under U.S. law and to seek help if they are pulled into questioning.
They pointed to possible contacts:
– Civil liberties groups
– Church networks
– Filipino community organizations
Information about the role of U.S. Customs and Border Protection is available on the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, but protesters argued that policy on paper often looks different from what happens in a closed room on a ship.
For the families of the four deported men, organizers said the immediate priorities are:
1. Secure lawyers
2. Piece together what happened inside the Carnival Pride on September 7
3. Press U.S. and Philippine authorities for transparency and due process
Key takeaway: Organizers and advocates say the incident underscores the need for clearer protections and legal access for migrant seafarers who can face swift removal when vessels enter U.S. ports.
About 35 protesters rallied Sept. 14 at the Baltimore Cruise Terminal after four Filipino crew from Carnival Pride were taken off the ship Sept. 7 and deported, organizers say. Advocates allege the men were questioned about drugs, pressured into written statements tied to child-pornography accusations, denied counsel, and rapidly removed. Groups including Tanggol Migrante and Malaya Movement Baltimore say this fits a broader pattern of more than 100 documented deportations from East Coast ports and demand legal access, transparency, and diplomatic intervention.
