Twenty-one employees of cruise ships have been detained — and some deported — while their ship was docked in Norfolk by federal authorities who accused them of possessing child pornography, immigrant advocates alleged Sunday morning.
Customs and Border Protection officers, escorted by Carnival Cruise Line security staff, detained the crew members in a series of raids dating back to April, advocates said, to their downtown office a few blocks away.
Around 50 people gathered on the edge of Town Point Park, in sight of hundreds of people disembarking and boarding the Carnival Sunshine on Sunday, protesting the actions of federal authorities and the cruise line.
Aquilina Soriano Versoza, the executive director of the Pilipino Workers’ Center, said all 21 crew members had been “falsely accused” of possession of child pornography and were not being afforded due process.
Soriano Versoza said all the detentions are baseless, targeted actions made to bolster deportation quotas as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown.
Carnival said its staff merely has cooperated with federal law enforcement.
The FBI and U.S Customs and Border Protection have made a series of arrests of cruise ship employees, going back to the Biden administration. It is not clear whether any of the employees detained in Norfolk have been charged with any crimes.
At the rally, Soriano Versoza said the latest detention had happened Sunday morning.
She said authorities would stop suspected “lower-ranking” employees, like cooks, casino workers and custodians, and demand their phones. Crew members were removed from the ship and held at the CBP office, in hotel rooms or at the airport.
“There were no formal charges at all. Only accusations with no evidence,” Soriano Versoza said in an interview.
Soriano Versoza said those who were detained didn’t have criminal records. They held approved visas.
The Pilipino Workers Center, a West Coast-based advocacy group, hurriedly put together the demonstration starting Friday after they were contacted by crew members aboard the Sunshine.
In one such case in June, nine crew members were escorted off the ship at once.
The crackdowns, she said, are made against workers who often don’t fully understand what’s happening, what their rights are or who have any ties to the Hampton Roads region.
Soriano Versoza said the cases in Norfolk are unlike previous cases of cruise ship employees involved with child pornography.
When accused crew members ask to see evidence that would incriminate them, authorities have nothing to show, she said.
“It’s just a justification for deporting hardworking migrants,” Soriano Versoza said.
“This is a law enforcement matter,” a spokesperson for Carnival Cruise Line said in a statement. “Carnival always cooperates with law enforcement investigations. We also have active training and education programs to make sure our crew members follow internet safety guidelines.”
Monica Sarmiento, Executive Director of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, speaks during a demonstration on Sunday, July 20, 2025 bringing attention to deportations of Filipino workers with legal work visas aboard the Carnival Sunshine operating out of Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) The Carnival Sunshine sits in port at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk on Sunday, July 20, 2025. According to Aquilina Soriano-Versoza, Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, U.S. Customs and Border Protection have boarded the Sunshine and taken away more than 20 workers in handcuffs with legal visas since April, one as recent as Sunday morning shortly before the demonstration. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Betsy Ainspac educates cruise-goers walking by on the deportations of Filipino seafarers with legal visas working aboard the Carnival Sunshine operating out of Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk on Sunday, July 20, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Demonstrators line the fence as cruise-goers walk by to board the Carnival Sunshine at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk on Sunday, July 20, 2025. People gathered to bring attention to U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection agents removing Filipino workers with legal visas who work aboard the Carnival Sunshine. About 20 workers have been detained since April and all have been deported back to the Philippines according to organizer Aquilina Soriano Versoza, Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Demonstrators participate in a demonstration on Sunday, July 20, 2025 bringing attention to deportations of Filipino workers with legal work visas aboard the Carnival Sunshine operating out of Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk. According to Aquilina Soriano-Versoza, Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, U.S. Customs and Border Protection have boarded the cruise line and taken away more than 20 workers in handcuffs since April, one as recent as Sunday morning shortly before the demonstration. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Aquilina Soriano-Versoza, Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, speaks during a demonstration on Sunday, July 20, 2025 bringing attention to deportations of Filipino workers with legal work visas aboard the Carnival Sunshine operating out of Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Demonstrators line the fence as cruise-goers walk by to board the Carnival Sunshine at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk on Sunday, July 20, 2025. People gathered to bring attention to U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection agents removing Filipino workers with legal visas who work aboard the Carnival Sunshine. About 20 workers have been detained since April and all have been deported back to the Philippines according to organizer Aquilina Soriano Versoza, Executive Director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Show Caption1 of 8Cruise-goers walk by demonstrators bringing attention to deportations of Filipino seafarers with legal visas working aboard the Carnival Sunshine operating out of Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in downtown Norfolk on Sunday, July 20, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)Expand
An official with Nauticus and the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center, the terminal which cruise ships make port at in Norfolk, said while they were generally aware of the situation, it was a matter of CBP and they didn’t know any specifics.
CBP officials had not responded to calls and emails requesting comment by Sunday evening.
“They are dedicated parents and spouses who have undergone rigorous background checks to obtain their work visas,” said Hampton Roads NAACP president Gaylene Kanoyton, who also spoke at the event. “Every person deserves dignity and inclusivity regardless of their immigration status.”
She said the detentions happening in Norfolk were just the latest case of aggressive action taken against immigrants in Virginia, comparing it to the arrests of a dozen people made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at a Chesterfield County Courthouse.
Julie Jamora, an activist in the Filipino community, said the news shared by Soriano Versoza has already rattled Filipinos across Hampton Roads.
Jamora, a native of Virginia Beach and a daughter to Filipino immigrants, said the messaging on display in Norfolk matches the idea of “tago ng tago” a Tagalog expression meaning “always hiding.”
“They leave it up to God,” she said. “This is life or death for a lot of Filipinos. If we don’t act now, all of us will be suffering, fighting for our rights some day.”
John Buzbee, 757-879-7421, john.buzbee@virginiamedia.com