A group of crew members from the cruise ship Disney Magic were taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the Port of San Diego last month, according to statements made during a press conference on Tuesday by Unión del Barrio and Tanggol Migrante Movement.
The arrests became public after a passenger who had just disembarked the ship recorded video showing crew members in restraints being escorted by officers into unmarked vehicles at the Pier. The passenger later spoke at the press conference, describing the scene as “disheartening and unsettling.”
Crew Center received a message from DCL employee who requested anonymity and confirmed that several crew members from Disney Magic and Disney Wonder had been detained.
“in San Diego 5 crew from Disney Magic were arrested, apparently cause they had child pornography in their phones. Next morning 2 were arrested from Disney Wonder for the same reason,” the crew member said.
The same source added:
“It’s been kept quiet by the company and it looks like CBP is targeting Dining Crew, but apparently the Disney ships that are sailing from US are being all inspected. Nothing has been changed onboard but there is shared info making the fleet.”
At this time, authorities have not publicly confirmed the allegations, and no official charges or identities have been released by CBP.
During the press conference, representatives from Unión del Barrio stated that more than 10 people were reportedly detained from the Disney Magic on April 23. The workers were removed from the ship and transported in unmarked CBP vehicles.
Witness Darby Mehta Rapada, who filmed the arrest after disembarking the ship with family members, said some of the crew members were still wearing their uniforms while being escorted off the vessel.
“One of the employees in restraints was a head server that had been serving me and my family during the duration of my trip,” Rapada said during the conference. “He had actually been serving us probably 45 minutes before he was in restraints.” The witness also recalled seeing another employee still wearing a chef’s uniform.
A major point raised during the conference was the alleged lack of communication from both CBP and Disney Cruise Line following the detentions.
Organizers said they contacted CBP shortly after learning about the incident but claimed their inquiries were dismissed and that they struggled to obtain information regarding the detained workers. They also said Disney Cruise Line representatives initially appeared unaware that crew members had been removed from the ship.
According to speakers at the event, emergency contact numbers for Disney Cruise Line were transferred multiple times before organizers reportedly reached a supervisor who questioned whether the incident had even occurred despite being shown photos from the scene.
“We have to express that when a corporation as large as Disney does not even acknowledge that workers were being taken off that vessel, despite the fact that we had provided pictures, it’s a disturbing trend,” one speaker said during the conference.
Representatives from Tanggol Migrante Movement also connected the Disney detentions to another recent case involving Filipino crew members from the cruise ship MS Zaandam operated by Holland America Line.
According to the group, four Filipino crew members from Zaandam were arrested by CBP in San Diego on April 25. Volunteers said they spent days attempting to locate the detained seafarers and contact authorities, but claimed they received little information from CBP offices or consular representatives. The organization later learned that at least one of the detained crew members had reportedly already been deported back to the Philippines.
Advocacy groups speaking at the conference argued that the cases highlight growing concerns over transparency, due process, and access to legal or consular assistance for detained cruise ship workers.
Neither CBP nor Disney Cruise Line has publicly released detailed information regarding the Disney Magic detentions as of publication time.
