Dozens at Baltimore cruise terminal protest deportation of Filipino seafarers

Matt Hubbard, The Baltimore Sun on Sep 14, 2025

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BALTIMORE — Dozens gathered outside the cruise terminal at the Port of Baltimore on Sunday to protest the alleged detention and deportation of four Filipino seafarers that were taken from a Carnival ship while it was docked in Baltimore last week.

According to Marino PH, the largest maritime community in the Philippines, the four seafarers were arrested on child pornography accusations and questioned about drug possession on Sept. 7.

Carnival Cruise Line said that arrests are a law enforcement matter and that the company will “always cooperate” with authorities. Immigration Customs and Enforcement and Customs Border Protection officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.

Against the backdrop of the Carnival Pride ship the seafarers were allegedly taken from, dozens of protesters stood with a Filipino flag and signs advocating for the protection of Filipino seafarers.

“In this current political climate, who is to say that these rates will not increase? Who is to say that these rates will not disproportionately impact Filipinos?” said Jom Delor, the deputy secretary general of the Filipino migrant alliance, Migrante USA. “We put our foot down and we say that the Filipino people deserve better and that we will fight until we get what we deserve.”

The four seafarers are in addition to dozens of other cruise ship workers that have been deported in the recent months due to unsupported accusations regarding child pornography, according to Filipino American advocacy groups and multiple local news reports.

In July, a Victory Cruise Lines ship in the Port of Detroit was targeted by Customs and Border Protection, according to a report from Travel Weekly. Similar reports about Carnival Cruise Line seafarers in Norfolk, Virginia, have indicated that over 18 Filipino seafarers were deported from that port in August.

Mel Ray, an advocate with the Kabataan Alliance — a national Filipino youth organization — said the deportation and accusations not only violates the seafarers’ right to due process, but impacts their lives in the Philippines.

“They essentially killed the hopes of these seafarers and any livelihood they have in the industry,” Ray said during Sunday’s news conference at the port. “They are condemning these seafarers to a life of hardship and poverty.”

The group demanded Carnival Cruise Line defend its workers by upholding due process and called upon Baltimore politicians, U.S. officials and the government of the Philippines to put an end to the arrest and deportation of Filipino workers.

“Stop acting like this is normal,” said Ryan Harvey, of the Baltimore Rapid Response Network. “To condemn people coming here looking for safety and stability is insane.”

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