CBP Is Deporting Cruise Ship Crew over CSAM Allegations Without Evidence

Summary

When Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents marched the housekeeper down the gangplank of the Victory I cruise ship in the Port of Detroit on the morning of July 11, she didn't know what was wrong, but she was confident it would get sorted out. The crew member, originally from South America, had worked for 20 years on smaller cruise ships plying the Great Lakes. She split her time between her home country, where her family still lives, and the Great Lakes region, where she had a job she loved and a partner. She says that over the years, her respect for America and its dedication to the rule of law had grown. It wasn't until a CBP agent told her to put her hands behind her back and she felt the cuffs click around her wrists that a horrible feeling washed over her, and she realized she may have been mistaken about something very, very important. "When I was handcuffed, all that respect that had been building up for 20 years disappeared," says the former crew member, who requested anonymity. Why the woman—whom Reason is calling "Maria" to protect her privacy—was being arrested would shock her even more when she eventually found out. Maria is one of more than an estimated 100 cruise ship crew members who have been summarily deported and had their work visas revoked in recent months based on unsubstantiated allegations by CBP agents of possessing or viewing child pornography. According to interviews, advocacy groups, and other news reports, CBP agents are boarding cruise ships with a list of targets and seizing their cell phones, laptops, and electronics. The crew members are handcuffed and detained. CBP agents then accuse them of having viewed or posted child pornography and pressure them to sign an admission, which includes a voluntary revocation of their C1/D visa (a joint crewmember and transit visa). The detainees are not shown the evidence against them or allowed legal representation. The removals—which have occurred at ports in the Great Lakes region, Norfolk,...