POSITION STATEMENT “Justice for the 18 Filipino Seafarers, Justice for All Migrant Workers”

 

Global Migrant Heritage Foundation, USA (GMHF-USA)

The Global Migrant Heritage Foundation, USA (GMHF-USA), in unity with fellow immigrant rights organizations across the United States, expresses grave outrage and unequivocal condemnation over the violent and unjustified removal of 18 Filipino crew members from the Carnival Sunshine cruise ship in Norfolk, Virginia.

These seafarers — dedicated, hardworking, and the primary breadwinners for their families — were handcuffed like criminals, detained without due process, and forcibly deported back to the Philippines. Their only so-called “offense”? Holding valid 10-year U.S. work visas and working honorably in an industry that sustains the American economy — a cruel irony that reveals the betrayal of the very ideals this country claims to uphold.

This unconscionable act — carried out without criminal charges, without due process, and with immediate visa revocations and decade-long reentry bans — constitutes a coordinated violation of human rights and international labor protections. It is not enforcement; it is state-sponsored humiliation, racial profiling, and scapegoating of immigrant workers under the guise of security.

Let it be clear:

This is not immigration enforcement —

This is not justice —

This is racial targeting, systemic abuse, and moral cowardice.

We denounce this action in the strongest possible terms as a betrayal of American values, a stain on the national conscience, and a warning to all immigrant workers that no visa or legal status offers true protection when fear-driven policy prevails.

As an organization rooted in the defense of migrants' dignity, labor rights, and cultural contributions, GMHF-USA demands:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide a full and transparent accounting of the legal basis for this raid and removals;

Carnival Corporation to explain its apparent acquiescence — or complicity — in allowing its employees to be unlawfully seized while under its employment and protection;

The Philippine Embassy to forcefully defend its nationals and demand accountability from U.S. authorities through formal diplomatic protest and urgent consular action;

The Trump Administration to cease and desist from these unjust and racially discriminatory deportations and to uphold the basic principles of due process and fairness under the law.

We likewise call on fellow immigrants, workers’ organizations, civil liberties groups, labor unions, and faith communities to rise in collective resistance. No worker should ever be detained for simply doing their job. No human being should be treated as disposable.#

 We will not be silent. We will not stand down.

Justice for the 18 Filipino seafarers is justice for all immigrant workers.

We demand accountability. We demand dignity. We demand a future without fear.

“Where the law is used to terrorize the innocent, then justice must rise and break the silence.”

— Global Migrant Heritage Foundation, USA (GMHF-USA)

Arnedo S. Valera, Esquire

Executive  Director, Global Migrant Heritage Foundation, USA

Metropolitan DC.

July 19, 2025