4 Carnival Cruise Workers Reportedly Deported While Ship Was Docked in Virginia

Four Filipino cruise ship workers were deported on Sunday, Aug. 17, after their vessel docked in Norfolk, Virginia.

The group included a male restaurant steward, a male laundry attendant, a male deckhand, and a female third officer, according to Sookyung Oh, executive director of the Hamkae Center, as reported by The Virginian-Pilot.

Advocacy leaders said the four were accused of being part of a group chat allegedly connected to child pornography, though no evidence was ever presented. “All of the workers absolutely denied having anything to do with child pornography,” Aquilina Soriano Versoza, executive director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, told The Virginian-Pilot.

None of the crew members were charged with a crime, according to Soriano Versoza. She said they were denied access to legal counsel and pressured into signing deportation paperwork under threat of a $250,000 fine or jail time. Their valid C1/D visas were revoked, and they were issued 10-year bans.

Soriano Versoza also noted that the crew had undergone background checks when applying for their jobs and visas, and none had criminal records. She added that they had received training about the dangers of child exploitation material and the risks of opening suspicious links.

After U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents boarded the ship on Aug. 17, the workers were taken to the Delta Hotels near Norfolk International Airport. By the following day, they were deported.

CBP confirmed the action, stating that the individuals were “found inadmissible and were denied entry to the United States” as part of routine cruise ship immigration enforcement, 13News Now reported.

Advocates, however, questioned the motives. “We really think that this is a part of CBP trying to reach the quotas that is being put on them by the administration, but they are not responding to us,” Soriano Versoza told WHRO.

“They are deported with this accusation hanging over them but no due process to clear their names,” she added, per The Virginian-Pilot.

These cases are not isolated. Advocacy groups say that in 2025 alone, 28 workers have been deported after being detained at the Norfolk port.

Carnival Cruise Line, in a statement to PEOPLE, said: “This is a law enforcement matter that involves the entire shipping and cruise industry. We can’t speak for others, but we always cooperate with law enforcement investigations.”

On July 20, Soriano Versoza told The Virginian-Pilot that 21 Carnival employees had been detained in similar raids since April. Like the latest group, she said they were “falsely accused” and denied due process.

U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, whose district includes Norfolk, also raised concerns. “It is unclear based on press reports why these recently deported seafarers were targeted. Especially, whether for each individual detained, if there was probable cause that they had committed a crime,” Scott said. “Our nation was founded on the fundamental principles of due process. Under our Constitution, everyone is entitled to due process regardless of citizenship or immigration status.