Key Aspects:
- A Carnival guest was detained by ICE agents in Miami due to a misunderstanding.
- The guest was flagged because he shared the same name as someone else who had multiple warrants.
- He was released after spending about 90 minutes in a holding cell in PortMiami.
One recent guest of Carnival Cruise Line ended a birthday cruise with a present nobody wants – getting wrongfully detained by agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Jose Martinez, who is a US Coast Guard Veteran and most definitely a US citizen, was onboard with his wife, Tamara Verhas, and several others to celebrate both his birthday and the birthday of a close friend.
All was well until the ship returned to Miami, Florida, on the morning of January 5, 2026, to disembark a Caribbean cruise.
It’s not clear which specific vessel Martinez had been sailing on, but three Carnival ships were in the busy port that day – including Carnival Conquest, Carnival Horizon, and Carnival Sunrise.
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It was then that a misunderstanding over mistaken identity led to a traumatic encounter with ICE agents for the Phoenix-based couple.
ICE Storms Into Stateroom
At approximately 6:45 a.m. on the morning of January 5, ICE agents suddenly burst into Martinez’s stateroom while the couple was still fast asleep.
“[The door] burst open. Three men came in with flashlights shining them in our faces and giving us commands,” Martinez told 12 News.
“They ordered me out of bed and put me against the wall, and handcuffed me. I had no idea what was going on. I was asking what this was about; it was a flurry of just confusion,” he recalled.
Martinez tried to offer proof of identification, but per an interview with ABC 15 Arizona, these pleas fell on deaf ears.
His wife also tried to film the incident to document the traumatic encounter, but her phone was taken. When the device was returned, the footage had been deleted.
Martinez was ultimately removed from the cruise ship and detained in a holding cell in PortMiami.
He was fingerprinted and questioned for about an hour and a half before agents finally let him go.
What Went Wrong?
Unfortunately for Marinez, this whole experience came about due to a case of mistaken identity.
The veteran told ABC 15 Arizona that he had actually had previous run-ins with ICE before because his name is very common in the Hispanic community, but never in such a dramatic or traumatizing way.
Per the couple, Martinez was mistaken for another person with the same name who had multiple warrants out for his arrest.
“From what I understand, all of this was based off my first and last name, a very common Hispanic name. They thought I was someone who had warrants for drug trafficking or some sort of offender,” Martinez said.
After nearly two hours, he was returned to the cruise terminal. Martinez alleges that he did not even get a simple apology for the ordeal he had been wrongfully forced to endure.
US Customs and Border Protection have not commented publicly on the situation.
Carnival Cruise Line Responds
The ICE agents most likely incorrectly flagged Martinez during a review of the cruise ship’s manifest as part of the standard customs process.
The manifest contains a detailed record of all passengers and crew members onboard, including their birthdays and citizenship status.
The agents then would have coordinated with the cruise ship’s security team to gain access to their stateroom. Carnival complied with the requests of the authorities in their investigation.
“We are aware that U.S. Customs and Border Protection took a guest into custody as a person of interest. As this is a law‑enforcement matter, we defer all further questions to the appropriate authorities,” the cruise line said in a public statement.
It’s unclear if the cruise line has reached out to Martinez and his wife following the detainment.
