CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA — Almost all of the more than 200 Filipino professional sailors have been deported from the U.S. since 2025 after being accused of possessing child pornography without being criminally charged. In October 2025, Customs and Border Protection agents interrogated marine engineer Michael James Garcia aboard a cruise ship docked in Charleston, South Carolina, linking him to an email associated with a child pornography website.
Garcia, who denied downloading, possessing, watching, or distributing child pornography, was never charged by U.S. authorities for any crimes. His visa was revoked, and he received a 10-year ban from entering the U.S. "I'm a marine engineer graduate, so actually it's really my profession to work on the ship," said Garcia, who worked most recently as a motorman for Viking Ocean Cruises.
Garcia surrendered his cell phone and allowed agents to review his communications. "They do not give you due process just to defend yourself," Garcia said. He added, "Right now we are being targeted by the United States in this immigration crackdown."
The Pilipino Workers Center tracked at least 212 cases of deported Filipino seafarers with revoked visas and no criminal charges. Aquilina Soriano Versoza, director of the Pilipino Workers Center, stated, "This is another way that they are actually raising the numbers of deportations." She added, "It's clearly unjust because they're not even given a chance to clear their names because there are no charges."
A 53-year-old professional mariner, identified as F, was deported from San Diego in April after agents accused him of accessing a child pornography website link. Agents told F he accessed the website in 2017 and 2018. In another instance, a 27-year-old housekeeping attendant, identified as C, was questioned by CBP agents aboard a cruise ship in Baltimore. C denied receiving, sending, watching, or downloading child pornography and was deported after his visa was revoked with a designation for administrative cancellation.
Deportations have occurred in various ports including Baltimore, San Diego, and Port Canaveral, Florida. Detained sailors typically have their visas cancelled and are deported to Manila within 24 hours. A CBP spokesperson stated that allegations the agency is targeting Filipino seafarers are false. "We are targeting criminal aliens including these child predators," the spokesperson said in a statement. The agency added that detentions are part of broader efforts to combat child exploitation. "CBP will continue to pursue all avenues available to enforce consequences for crimes like this, including having those accused face federal prosecution, and removal from the United States," the spokesperson said.