Disney Cruise Line Crew Members Taken by ICE Agents in San Diego

On the day that Disney Cruise Line announced that they would double their presence in San Diego, CA, one witness reports that ICE agents took several crew members off the Disney Magic in that very port.

What's Happening:

• A recent Disney Cruise Line passenger has reported that she and other passengers had witnessed several crew members being taken off the ship by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) officers.
• According to NBC7, passenger Dharmi Mehta was on a roundtrip voyage out of San Diego aboard the Disney Magic, heading to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico.
• On her family's return to San Diego, Mehta noticed ICE officers escorting crew members off the ship in restraints as they were going through customs.
• Later, as she and her family were leaving the parking lot of the B Street Cruise Pier they noticed other crew members being loaded into a white van, surrounded by federal agents.
• Mehta also shared that she noticed one of the crew members being detained was her head server, whom she and her family had enjoyed talking to throughout the cruise, becoming more worried knowing that the man had two daughters and would be heading home to see them later this month.
• A video, seen on the NBC7 site, shows the crew members being taken into custody while still wearing their Disney-issued wardrobe.
• Mehta was joined at a news conference by representatives from several migrant rights groups. They claim that another cruise ship operated by Holland America also had crew members detained when it was in port on April 25, two days after the incident on the Disney Magic.
• Benjamin Prado from Union del Barrio referred to the actions as "abductions," calling for transparency from federal agents, and asking the cruise lines to do more to protect their employees.
• Prado also states that the detainees were being denied due process and access to consular services.
• A statement from the Port of San Diego was issued to NBC7, reading "The Port of San Diego Harbor Police Department did not have any involvement in the reported enforcement actions on April 23 or April 25 at the B Street Cruise Terminal. We did not receive any calls for service related to these incidents. In accordance with California law, including SB 54, Harbor Police does not participate in immigration enforcement activities. The B Street Cruise Terminal is a federal port of entry, where law enforcement authority for immigration and customs matters rests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As such, any enforcement actions taken onboard vessels or within the federal inspection area fall under CBP’s jurisdiction. For questions regarding these specific incidents, including the circumstances of the enforcement actions or the individuals involved, we recommend contacting CBP or the respective cruise lines directly.”

What They're Saying:

• Dharmi Mehta: "It was really unsettling...my big concern [is] how is [her head server] gonna reach out to his family? Does the family even known that he's not getting back on the ship today?"
• Benjamin Prado: "This is not an isolated incident. In fact, it has become a growing pattern, not only here in San Diego but throughout this country... It is our responsibility as a society, as working people, to really denounce these actions by Customs and Border Protection, by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the prolonged detention of migrant workers, whether it be here in our own community as well as those that work on ships."

DCL In San Diego:

• On the day Mehta's incident occurred (April 23, 2026), Disney Cruise Line announced a new deal with the Port of San Diego that will last through at least 2031, seeing Disney Cruise Line double their annual sailing from the southern California port.
• Through this deal, guests looking to sail aboard Disney Cruise Line will have more opportunities to visit ports like Catalina Island, Baja, and the Mexican Riviera, with a broader slate of seasonal itineraries and more frequent sailings.
• The deal also gives Disney non-exclusive priority access to the North and South berths at the B Street Cruise Terminal, where the incident took place.
• As such, some eyes are focused these incidents to see if they will affect any of the deals or enthusiasm surrounding Disney Cruise Line's larger presence at the port.