Federal officials said the operation included crew members from several ships docked in San Diego.
SAN DIEGO — Federal agents detained cruise ship crew members, including some Disney Cruise Line employees, during a late-April child sexual abuse material operation at the Port of San Diego, authorities and company officials said.
The operation drew national attention after passengers said they saw uniformed cruise workers led away from the Disney Magic while families were leaving the ship. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said officers boarded eight cruise ships between April 23 and April 27 as part of child sexual exploitation material enforcement work. Homeland Security Investigations later said 23 crew members were arrested at the port as part of Operation Tidal Wave.
CBP said officers interviewed 28 suspected crew members from several ships, including 26 from the Philippines, one from Portugal and one from Indonesia. The agency said 27 of the 28 were confirmed to be involved in receiving, possessing, transporting, distributing or viewing child sexual exploitation material. CBP said their visas were canceled and they were returned to their countries of citizenship. Officials did not release the names of those detained, the ships they worked on or the specific number tied to Disney Cruise Line.
HSI San Diego said in a separate statement that agents arrested 23 crew members from multiple cruise ships at the Port of San Diego on April 28. The agency said the arrests were based on information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The arrestees were taken to Los Angeles for processing, and their visas were revoked. Federal officials did not immediately explain whether the CBP and HSI numbers described the same group, overlapping enforcement steps or different legal classifications in the operation.
The public first learned about the detentions after a passenger aboard the Disney Magic recorded crew members being taken away by federal officers. Dharmi Mehta, who was on the ship with her family, said she recognized some of the workers from the voyage. She said one had served her family during meals. The video showed federal officers moving workers with their hands behind their backs near the B Street Cruise Terminal. Early concern from local advocacy groups centered on whether the detentions were immigration-related before federal officials described the child exploitation material investigation.
Disney Cruise Line said it cooperated with law enforcement and removed the employees linked to the case. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior and fully cooperated with law enforcement,” a Disney spokesperson said. “While the majority of these individuals were not from our cruise line, those who were are no longer with the company.” Disney did not publicly name the employees, describe their jobs or say how many worked on the Disney Magic. The company also did not say when it first learned of the federal investigation.
The Port of San Diego said its Harbor Police and security personnel were not involved in the enforcement actions at the B Street Cruise Terminal. Port officials said the terminal is a federal port of entry, which gives CBP authority over immigration and customs matters when cruise vessels return from international waters. Maritime attorney Michael Winkleman told local reporters that CBP has jurisdiction over ships in U.S. ports, though he said it was unusual for workers in a case like this to be sent back to their home countries rather than face U.S. court proceedings.
Local immigrant rights groups had demanded answers after witnesses reported that workers from the Disney Magic and a Holland America ship were removed from vessels in late April. Unión del Barrio said about 10 Disney employees were detained on April 23 and four Holland America workers were detained two days later. Holland America said it cooperates with law enforcement investigations and referred further questions to CBP. The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles said it viewed the detention and return of Filipino seafarers with concern, but it did not release names or case details.
The case sits at the meeting point of federal border authority, cruise ship labor and child exploitation investigations. Cruise ships returning from foreign ports pass through federal inspection, and crew members often work under visas that allow them to serve aboard vessels entering U.S. ports. Federal officials said the San Diego operation involved information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which receives and routes cyber tips related to suspected child exploitation. Officials have not said whether any passengers were investigated or whether the material was found on personal devices, ship systems or online accounts.
No public federal complaint or indictment had been released with the initial reports, and officials had not announced court dates for any named defendant. The lack of public charging documents left several details unclear, including whether any of the workers will face prosecution outside the United States, whether devices were seized and whether the investigation remains active aboard other ships. The strongest official statements so far came from CBP and HSI, which described the operation, the number of people interviewed or arrested and the visa actions that followed.
As of Thursday, federal officials had confirmed a child exploitation material operation involving multiple cruise ships in San Diego, Disney had confirmed some of its workers were no longer employed, and several names and case records remained sealed or unreleased. The next major update would be any federal charging record, agency statement or consular response tied to the workers who were removed.
Author note: Last updated May 7, 2026.