Crew members were still wearing their Disney uniforms when they were escorted away from the boat with their hands zip-tied behind their backs, reports say

Some travelers on Disney’s Magic cruise ship were left disturbed earlier this month after ICE agents stormed onto the vessel and detained several crew members.

Immigrant rights groups said at least 10 crew members were detained at the Port of San Diego on April 23 after the Disney-run cruise ship returned following a five-day trip.

Dharmi Mehta and her family had enjoyed their trip, but were upset when they saw the head waiter, whom they had become close with, being led away from the docked boat with his hands zip-tied behind his back.

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[–] 369 points 4 months ago (1 child)

“Terrible things are happening outside. At any time of night and day, poor helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. They’re allowed to take only a knapsack and a little cash with them, and even then, they’re robbed of these possessions on the way. Families are torn apart; men, women and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their houses sealed, their families gone.” — Anne Frank

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  • [–] 152 points 4 months ago* (34 children)

    Wait, these crew members were on a ship, not on US soil. US Customs and Immigration is on land which you have to pass through to get to the USA. ICE actually dragged them onto US soil just so they could say they were there illegally? WTF?!

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  • [–] 85 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    Technically you need permission to dock. It means that the entire crew manifest was known to the government prior to arrival and they were given permission to dock. Then they were arrested. If there was a problem with them being in the US they should never have been given permission.

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  • [–] 59 points 4 months ago (22 children)

    Apparently DCL registers its ships in the Bahamas. I don't know if ICE/CBP have jurisdiction on foreign ships without a bunch of warrants.

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  • [–] 84 points 4 months ago (18 children)

    I know Disney's lawyers are well funded and ruthless, but does anyone think they'll go into bat for these people? They only seem to care about copyright infringement, not their actual workers.

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  • [–] 65 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    This hurts the Disney image and the margins on their cruises, so they might.

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  • [–] 19 points 4 months ago

    A high profile lawsuit might be seen as something which could also hurt their image. The entire population of The Villages would probably boycot Disney World. Hopefully Disney's execs pay attention to public opinion and not just their golf buddies.

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  • [–] 35 points 4 months ago*

    If ICE shows they'll storm a foreign flagged cruise ship to abduct crew members, why would any passenger think they wouldn't also try to grab them, too?

    Wearing an embroidered polo doesn't change your rights.

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    [–] 110 points 4 months ago* (23 children)

    I’m confused, cruise ships usually have all their work permits and stuff handled ahead of time for the crew. How can you be an illegal immigrant if you’re just working on a boat for a day and not staying here?

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  • [–] 191 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    Because ICE don't give a fuck about facts. They have been arresting, incarcerating and murdering legal American citizens too. They have Trump and Vance's backing.

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  • [–] 53 points 4 months ago

    As far as I know almost no cruise ships are actually American flagged vessels and therefore are perfectly able to directly employ foreign nationals without citizenship or US work authorization. They aren't even under the jurisdiction of ICE.

    Disney ships are all Bahamanian flagged ships and have absolutely no obligation to employ American citizens.

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  • [–] 16 points 4 months ago

    Legality has nothing to do with it. It is super simple.

    ABC didn't fire Jimmy Kimmel.The people on that ship are paying a high cost for that defiance. They are merely externalities for Disney's punishment. I suppose terrifying people is a nice side effect for those in charge. But retribution is the motivation.

    Simple as that.

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    [–] 78 points 4 months ago (29 children)

    The Disney Magic is Bahama flagged. This is not US territory and ICE has no right to be on it what sort ever.

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    [–] 54 points 4 months ago
    [–] 35 points 4 months ago (1 child)

    I wonder how the Mickey takes his whiskey? Neat?

    When corporations start bleeding profits bc of the terrible tangerine pedo, maybe they’ll start caring

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    [–] 34 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    Brown people? Not on my watch -ICE

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  • [–] 20 points 4 months ago (3 children)

    They actually love brown people. They want their cheap labor and this stuff keeps people afraid and makes them keep their head down. It has the added benefit that they get to parade it around to their electorate like 'something is being done'

    It's theater to keep poor white people in fly over states from realizing that the people in power are the ones selling them out and have been the entire time.

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  • [–] 27 points 4 months ago (6 children)

    So if Disney was breaking the law, which Disney officials are going to jail?

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  • [–] 39 points 4 months ago (4 children)

    You think these people were actually illegal immigrants? Ice doesn’t care as long as they are brown

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  • [–] 24 points 4 months ago (3 children)
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    [–] 20 points 4 months ago* (3 children)

    Not that I really expect Disney to ever do the right thing as such, but I can dream about Disney lawyers going all...

    ...in court for ICE fucking around with their "WOW" customer service ethos and therefore their bottom line.

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    [–] 17 points 4 months ago (5 children)

    You know some asshole in a meeting was like you know let’s go raid a cruise ship

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    [–] 15 points 4 months ago

    ...and the World Cup is around the corner. Stay home and watch it on TV or in your local pub, unless you have tickets for the matches in Mexico and Canada.

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