NEED TO KNOW
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Four Filipino Carnival Sunshine cruise workers were accused of child sex abuse once their ship docked in Norfolk, Va., on Sunday, Aug. 17
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The three men and one woman, who denied the allegations, were then detained at the Decker Half Moone Cruise Center by the Customs and Border Protection
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The next day, they were taken to the nearby airport and deported out of the country
Four Filipino cruise workers were deported after they were taken into custody on Sunday, Aug. 17, after their ship docked in Norfolk, Va.
The four employees included one male restaurant steward, one male laundry attendant, one male deckhand and a female 3rd officer on the ship, Sookyung Oh, executive director of the Hamkae Center, said, per The Virginian-Pilot.
The four were accused of being in a group chat “that had some links to child pornography, but they weren’t shown any evidence of it,” Aquilina Soriano Versoza, executive director of the Pilipino Workers Center of Southern California, said, per The Virginian Pilot. “All of the workers absolutely denied having anything to do with child pornography.”
No one has been charged with any crimes, Soriano Versoza said. Advocacy groups said that the four crewmembers, who were not allowed access to legal counsel, were told they must sign deportation paperwork or face the potential of a $250,000 fine or jail time. As a result, their valid C1/D visas were revoked, and they were subjected to a 10-year ban, Soriano Versoza said.
Soriano Versoza told The Virginian-Pilot that when the crew members applied for their visas and jobs, they all went through background checks, and each has a clean background and no criminal records. She also said they participated in orientations warning about child sex abuse images and opening unrecognizable computer links.
Stephen Katz/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty
The Carnival Sunrise as seen departing from Nauticus’ Decker Half Moone Cruise Center on April 29, 2019
After U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents arrived at the cruise ship port on Aug. 17, they transported the four detainees to the Delta Hotels near Norfolk International Airport. The next day, they were driven to the airport and deported from the U.S.
CBP confirmed the enforcement. The federal agency said the crew members were “found inadmissible and were denied entry to the United States” as part of “ongoing cruise vessel operations where we enforce immigration law,” per 13News Now.
“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 said, per WHRO.
“They are deported with this accusation hanging over them but no due process to clear their names,” she said, per The Virginian Pilot. “They are having their valid visas revoked on accusations alone.”
These are the latest cruise employees apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center in Norfolk. In 2025, 28 people were deported after being detained at the Virginia port, according to the advocacy groups.
“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,” a Carnival Cruise Line representative said in a statement to PEOPLE.
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US Customs and Border Protection form to fill out
On July 20, Soriano Versoza told The Virginian-Pilot that 21 Carnival Cruise Line employees in total had been detained during different raids beginning in April. Like those on Aug. 17, they were “falsely accused” of possession of child sex abuse and were denied due process, she said.
In July, U.S. Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, whose district includes Norfolk, issued the following statement.
“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,” he continued. “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.”
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A representative for Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for more information on Monday.
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