A Filipino crew member who was scheduled to join a cruise ship has reportedly been denied entry to the United States after landing in Los Angeles on October 27. According to his family, the young seafarer was escorted by U.S. immigration officers shortly after disembarking his flight, questioned, and subjected to a full inspection of his luggage and personal phone. Within hours, he was informed that he would be deported to the Philippines, with authorities citing “moral turpitude” on the paperwork.
His family is now seeking help through seafarer social-media groups such as Marino PH, described the distress of seeing their son’s travel ticket revoked and his dreams of returning to work suddenly collapse. They said he was detained for roughly 24 hours before being sent home. In their message, the mother explained that her son had no criminal record.
This story adds to a growing number of reports emerging in 2025 of Filipino crew members being deported from the U.S. after digital device checks or interviews at ports of arrival. Seafarer-advocacy pages have tracked several similar incidents in recent months, where crew were allegedly asked to sign documents before being removed from the country often with their C-1/D crew visas revoked, preventing them from rejoining ships that operate in U.S. waters.
The Norwegian Seafarers’ Union (NSU) recently issued a warning highlighting an alarming trend of seafarers being detained and repatriated from the United States. According to the union, U.S. authorities have intensified background and digital-content checks on all arriving visa holders, including cruise-ship crew.
The NSU reported that advanced technology is being used to identify digital traces of illegal or inappropriate online content, including group memberships, forwarded media, or stored material connected to child exploitation networks. In some cases, no explicit content was found on the device itself, but forensic checks revealed previous participation in online groups now under investigation.
One seafarer, for instance, was banned from entering the United States after authorities found his old chat-group affiliations through forensic scans. His devices contained no illicit images, yet the connection alone led to his visa cancellation and deportation.
