U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers deported 27 cruise crew members after boarding eight cruise ships in late April, according to a CBP spokesperson.
At least two of the cruise ships that CBP targeted -- the Disney Magic and Holland America Line's Zaandam -- were in the Port of San Diego, according to activists and a Disney passenger.
CBP boarded the eight ships between April 23 and April 27, the CBP spokesperson said. It interviewed 28 crew members, 26 of whom were from the Philippines, one of whom was from Portugal and one of whom was from Indonesia. It canceled the visas of 27 of those crew members, who have since "been returned to their country of citizenship."
The CBP described this as part of ongoing child sexual exploitation material enforcement. Legal experts and activists have raised doubts about the validity of the child sex crime accusations.
CBP has been removing crew members from cruise ships since at least last summer, when information emerged about detentions on the Great Lakes and the East Coast. The cruise industry has mostly stayed quiet about the activity.
CBP in San Diego
A video filmed by a Disney Magic passenger and published by NBC San Diego shows cruise ship crew members with their hands zip-tied behind their backs being held by uniformed officers.
The incident occurred on April 23, and more than 10 people were taken into custody, said Benjamin Prado, a member of San Diego-based activist group Union del Barrio, at a press conference at the port, which was recorded and posted on social media.
On April 25, four Filipino crew members of the Zaandam were detained, said a representative of the Tanggol Migrante Movement, an alliance for Filipino migrant advocacy. The group was notified of the incident by the International Seafarers Action Center, she said.
A spokesman for Holland America Line said, "This is a law enforcement matter, and we cooperate with law enforcement investigations in jurisdictions where we operate."
Disney Cruise Line did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokeswoman for the Port of San Diego said the port's police department "did not have any involvement in the reported enforcement actions on April 23 or April 25 at the B Street Cruise Terminal" and that as a federal port of entry, immigration and customs-related law enforcement is in the jurisdiction of CBP.