- Federal agents detained 14 crew members from two separate cruise ships at the Port of San Diego.
- Operations targeted workers on the Disney Magic and MV Zaandam during late April 2026 arrivals.
- Local Harbor Police denied any involvement in the federal enforcement actions, citing California state laws.
(SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detained 10 crew members from the Disney Magic at the Port of San Diego’s B Street Cruise Terminal on April 23, 2026, as the ship docked after a five-night sailing.
Passengers watched the arrests while leaving the vessel. Dharmi Mehta recorded video that showed at least four CBP officers escorting crew members, still in uniform and with their hands behind their backs, off the ship and into an unmarked white van.
Mehta recognized one of the detained workers as a crew member who had served her during the cruise. She later spoke at a May 5 news conference alongside migrant rights groups that demanded answers about who had been taken and where they were being held.
Federal officers returned to the same terminal two days later. On April 25, CBP detained four crew members from Holland America’s MV Zaandam at the B Street Cruise Terminal, according to activists who said the detained individuals are from the Philippines and fear deportation.
Benjamin Prado, an organizer with Unión del Barrio, described the back-to-back detentions as “part of a larger pattern of affecting raids and immigration detention in work sites.” His remarks came as local groups tied the cruise terminal arrests to wider concerns about workplace immigration enforcement.
The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department said it played no role in either operation. “The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department did not have any involvement in the reported enforcement actions on April 23 or April 25 at the B Street Cruise Terminal. We did not receive any calls for service related to these incidents. In accordance with California law, including SB 54, Harbor Police does not participate in immigration enforcement activities.”
That statement drew a line between local police and the federal agencies involved. Harbor Police said it was neither called to the scene nor engaged in immigration enforcement at the terminal.
The detentions unfolded on a day with separate business for the port and the cruise line. The April 23 operation aboard the Disney Magic occurred the same day Disney Cruise Line and the Port of San Diego extended their agreement through 2031.
Neither Disney Cruise Line, Holland America nor CBP released details about why the crew members were detained. No public explanation addressed the grounds for the action, the identities of those taken, whether warrants were involved, or their current status.
Holland America referred questions to CBP and said it cooperates with law enforcement. Disney Cruise Line did not release details on the reasons for the detentions.
Michael Winkleman, a maritime attorney, said several explanations were possible but none had been confirmed publicly. “CBP obviously had a reason to go on there. It could have been something criminal. It could have been something visa-related. It really could have been any number of other things.”
His comments reflected the limited public record around the San Diego operations. Cruise ships employ multinational crews under visa rules and maritime labor arrangements that can place workers under multiple layers of federal oversight when a vessel enters a U.S. port.
Passengers who saw the April 23 operation described a scene that unfolded in full view during routine disembarkation. Mehta’s video captured the most visible part of it: uniformed crew members being led away by federal officers as travelers left the ship.
The images circulated as questions mounted over which arm of the federal government carried out the action. Public officials and companies identified CBP as the agency involved, even as some community members used broader references to immigration raids and ICE agents while pressing for information about the detainees.
At the May 5 press conference, immigrant rights groups focused on the people taken from the two ships and the lack of public information released afterward. Unión del Barrio joined other local advocates in calling for answers about the detainees’ whereabouts and the legal basis for the operations.
The concerns extended beyond the Disney vessel because the second incident suggested a repeated enforcement pattern at the same terminal within 48 hours. In both cases, crew members were taken after their ships arrived in San Diego, and in both cases local authorities said they were not involved.
That sequence left the B Street Cruise Terminal at the center of a federal enforcement story that neither the cruise companies nor CBP has explained in public. The unanswered questions include why 14 crew members from two ships were detained on April 23 and April 25, and where those workers are now.
By May 5, the public record still rested on what passengers saw, what activists said, and the narrow statement from Harbor Police. Mehta, who had boarded the Disney Magic for a vacation cruise, instead walked off the ship after watching a crew member she recognized being escorted into a white van.
