Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently detained and deported crew members from a cruise ship operated by Victory Cruise Lines. I was first contacted three days ago by a cruise passenger who communicated with four crew members who informed him that CBP officers boarded the Victory I cruise ship while it was docked at the Detroit River dock in Detroit. CBP detained nine crew members, accusing some of the ship employees of possessing child pornography. The CBP officers then departed the cruise ship with the crew members with the intent to deport them. All of these crew members held valid C1/D seaman visas permitting them to be employed on cruise ships calling on U.S. ports.
The affected crew members were largely employed in the ship’s housekeeping department.
None of the detained crew members were provided with access to legal counsel before they were detained and deported.
The Facebook page @CrimeInTheD first reported on the incident to mostly readers who applauded the CBP without questioning how and why the crew members were apprehended and deported.
Peter Knego reported the incident on his Facebook page and the first episode of his newest podcast called A Little Bit Of Ship Banter with Dan Trauchtenberg (watch 24:45 – 31:35). There is additional information on both of these sources suggesting that CBP made similar raids on other cruise ships, including the Viking Octantis and Viking Polaris where a total of sixteen crew members were detained and deported from Detroit last week.
Mr. Knego provided much needed context into this disturbing news and raised basic issues of humanity and morality. Mr. Knego reported that “Kristi Noem’s CBP marauders have now started handcuffing and deporting crew members of Victory Cruise Lines VICTORY I and VICTORY II . . . The crew have no legal recourse and are being detained, then shipped back. Morale on both ships is low, crew are being told not to speak with the press and many are considering leaving, for fear of being unjustly arrested.”
There are no major newspapers covering this news at this time. One travel periodic, Travel Weekly, reported yesterday that on July 9th and 11th, the CBP removed 13 crew members from Victory Cruise Lines’ two cruise ship, the Victory I and Victory II. The publication also mentioned that “according to social media reports, other ships operating overnight cruises on the Great Lakes have also had crew removed by federal agents.”
There is different reporting regarding the date of the CBP raids, with some sources contending that the crew members were apprehended on June 20th. My information (and that reported by Mr. Knego) is that the apprehension of the crew on the Victory cruise ships occurred last week.
Mr. Knego rightfully calls this warrantless apprehension and deportation of these crew members the “canary in the cruising world coal mine.”
Lawyer Angie Williams also reported on BlueSky that there were numerous crew members apprehended and removed in handcuffs last week, apparently referring to the employees working on Viking exhibition ships:
This is not the first time that CBP has raided a cruise ship without a warrant and deported crew members. Just last May, we reported on the CBP collaboration with the Port of Galveston in Texas and Port Canaveral in Florida in an operation that caught 11 cruise ship crew members (we later learned were all employed by Royal Caribbean). Read: Blurred Faces and Omitted Names: Customs and Border Protection Arrest One and Deport Ten Crew Members for Child Exploitation. After the warrantless raid, the CBP issued a press release which described the multi-agency operations as a “cruise ship crack down” involving “child exploitation offenders.”
The CBP went as far as to issue a press release with no mention of the names of the cruise ships involved and posted photographs of officers with their faces obscured. As is the case with raids by the masked officers of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of agricultural and farm workers, CBP often operates in a shroud of secrecy. CBP did not obtain a warrant or any evidence establishing probable cause or even reasonable suspicion. If the real reason for detaining eleven crew members was possession of child pornography, why was only one crew member arrested and ten were deported to places unknown? CBP’s press release contained no explanation of this discrepancy and no discussion of the circumstances for apprehending these eleven ship employees.
Many people will celebrate the news of an alleged child sexual pervert being deported, but the reality is that even if these crew members were involved in such heinous crimes, they likely will not be prosecuted in their home country if that is where they were sent. Furthermore, they will not be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed on a U.S. based cruise ship after being deported. Moreover, these crew members should be entitled to obtain legal representation and due process. They have been denied the right to see the incriminating facts, if any, supporting these serious allegations and to confront their accusers in a court of law.
This complete lack of transparency is consistent with the public which has often seen masked federal officers without warrants rounding up immigrants and hauling them off to local detention centers or flying them to remote gulags outside of the U.S. in defiance of court orders. As Mr. Knego explains, CHP’s unlawful acts are clearly “random, reckless, and destructive.”
Victory Cruise Lines’ Chairman John Waggoner was quoted saying to the media after his crew members were flow from the U.S. that “we are actively cooperating with federal authorities to clarify the circumstances, and my priority is always our crew and the experience for our guests. We wish to thank federal, state and local representatives across the Great Lakes for their prompt and continued attention to this matter.” But this cruise CEO is clearly misguided. Unfortunately, “cooperating with federal authorities” who are ignoring basic legal protections is part of the explanation why the warrantless CBP was permitted to board the cruise ship in the first place. It reveals Victory Cruise Lines’ misguided deference to U.S. federal agencies at the the expense of the hard working crew members.
The only issues at this point is how many more times will the CBP target non-U.S. crew members on cruise ships calling on U.S. ports? How many spineless cruise CEO’s will welcome onto their cruise ships federal agents who wait at the docks, with no warrants or probable cause, itching to conduct illegal apprehensions?
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Photo credit: Victory I – Peter Knego
July 16, 2025 Update:
If you are a crew member and have information about this situation, please contact us via our Tip Line. We promise to maintain your confidentiality.
Mr. Knego shared his commentary about this case on QuirkyCruise.