Nobody books a Disney cruise expecting a federal immigration operation at the end of it. You pack your bags, tip your server, take a few last photos on the deck, and walk off the ship into the San Diego sunshine. That is how it is supposed to go. That is not how it went on April 23 for the passengers aboard the Disney Magic.
What Went Down at the Pier
As the Disney Magic finished unloading at the B Street Cruise Terminal in San Diego, ICE officers were already on the scene. They moved through the ship and the terminal and left with ten crewmembers in custody. Passengers who were still clearing customs and pulling out of the parking lot watched the whole thing happen.
One passenger, Dharmi Mehta, had spent five days on the ship with her family. The trip hit Catalina Island and Ensenada before coming back to San Diego, exactly the kind of itinerary Disney does well. As she was leaving, she saw federal agents escorting workers off the vessel in restraints. Then, from the parking lot, she watched more crewmembers being loaded into a white van.
ICE agents storm Disney cruise docking in California and arrest multiple staff in front of stunned passengers https://t.co/W4bRmMWmBY pic.twitter.com/x8Vz51MsfL
— New York Post (@nypost) May 6, 2026
One of those crew members was the head waiter who had served her family throughout the entire cruise. He was still wearing his Disney uniform and name tag. No bags. No belongings. Nothing.
Mehta later spoke at a news conference near the pier and described watching him get taken away with no way to contact anyone. She knew he had two daughters, whom he had been looking forward to seeing. She had no idea if his family even knew what had happened.
Federal Agents Came Back Two Days Later
April 25, same terminal, different ship. ICE returned to the B Street Cruise Terminal and arrested four crewmembers from Holland America's MV Zandaam. Immigration rights groups say this was not a coincidence and not a one-time sweep.
Benjamin Prado from Union del Barrio spoke at the news conference alongside Mehta and called the detentions “abductions.” He said the workers were being denied due process and access to consular services and that what happened in San Diego was part of something much larger playing out across the country. His group and others at the conference demanded transparency from federal agencies and called on cruise lines to take a more active role in protecting their employees.
The Port Says It Had Nothing to Do With It
The Port of San Diego issued a statement clarifying that Harbor Police had no involvement in either incident. No calls for service. No participation. The port cited California's SB 54, which bars local law enforcement from taking part in immigration enforcement.
The statement also pointed out that the B Street Cruise Terminal is a federal port of entry. That means immigration and customs authority belongs to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, not local or port police. CBP did not respond when contacted for comment. Disney Cruise Line also did not respond. A maritime attorney who weighed in locally said agents “obviously had a reason to go there” but would not say what that reason might be.
Disney Cruise ships (like the Magic) are Bahamian-flagged, not US-flagged. US employment laws don’t apply to them. This is standard across the entire cruise industry — every major line hires international crew this way. It’s completely legal under maritime law.
— Scott Sanders (@TheDCLBlog) May 6, 2026
The ICE/CBP… https://t.co/Oi9nDYQNLw
Disney Cruise Line Just Announced It Is Expanding in San Diego
Here is where the timing gets interesting. Right around all of this, Disney Cruise Line announced it was doubling the number of ships making stops in San Diego. That is a big deal for the port and for local tourism. It was treated as good news across the board.
The San Diego Tourism Authority was asked whether reports of ICE arresting Disney cruise workers in front of guests might affect enthusiasm for that expansion. They did not respond.
Disney Cruise Line Hasn't Said Anything
Disney has not commented publicly on the arrests. CBP has not explained what triggered the operation. The crewmembers who were taken have not spoken publicly. The families have not been heard from.
What is known is that ten people walked off a Disney cruise ship in uniform on April 23 and did not go home that day. Four more followed two days later from a different ship at the same pier. Passengers saw it happen and are still talking about it.
The Disney Magic has since sailed again. The pier looks exactly the same as it always did. But for the people who were standing there that afternoon, the end of that cruise is not something they are going to forget anytime soon.
Sources: ABC10 and NBCSanDiego
