More than 125 cruise ship employees have been arrested by Federal Agents at U.S. ports for possession of illegal material involving children so far this year as part of “Operation Tidal Wave,” a multiagency initiative led by US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officers, which also involves Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).
Earlier phases of Operation Tidal Wave this year have yielded the following:
Phase 1 (San Diego, April 2026): Resulted in administrative enforcement actions against 27 crewmembers from six vessels, who were processed for removal and returned to their home countries.
Phase 2 (San Juan, June/July 2026): Resulted in administrative enforcement actions against 14 crewmembers from three vessels, as well as the acceptance of federal prosecution for one crewmember.
However, most of the arrests have been concentrated in the Port of Boston, where this month CBP Agents reported removing 87 aliens from cruise ships so far this year for possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and Child Sexual Exploitation Material (CSEM).
The arrests have occurred across several cruise lines and involve citizens from multiple countries.
"Let the removal of these 87 be a message to others: we will not accept this exploitation, and CBP will not stop identifying and arresting the individuals who participate in it." - Julio Caravia, US Customs & Border Protection Boston Field Office
US Customs & Border Protection says most of these arrests result “in administrative enforcement actions. (The crew members) were processed for removal and returned to their home countries.”
Those not prosecuted are instead removed from the US and won’t be allowed to return, which means they can only work on ships that don’t cruise to any U.S. ports (assuming another cruise line would consider them for rehire).
“Operation Tidal Wave” is still ongoing, and federal authorities expect more arrests.
And it's not just cruise employees running afoul of U.S. authorities.
At the Galveston Cruise Port, U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) officers arrested 327 cruise ship passengers over a two-year period (mostly on warrants) between 2022 and 2024.
And so far this year, CBP has posted photos on social media of more than 20 passenger arrests at Florida cruise ports.
Are you surprised at the number of arrests of passengers and cruise employees CBP Agents are reporting at US Ports?
Share your opinion in a comment to this story!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Click the button above to add US Border News as a preferred source in your Google News Feed & News Searches!
Not at all.