A media narrative claiming ICE agents stormed Disney cruise ships in San Diego to arrest migrant workers unraveled after federal authorities confirmed the operation actually involved suspected child pornography offenders working aboard cruise ships.

Commentator Britt Hughes criticized major media outlets for spreading what she described as a false narrative before the facts were known, arguing the story rapidly circulated online before corrections emerged the following day.

“So on Wednesday, the liberal media ran wild with a story claiming that ICE was storming Disney cruise ships parked in San Diego and making mass arrests of migrant workers,” Hughes said.

According to Hughes, several media outlets framed the incident as an immigration enforcement operation targeting foreign workers aboard Disney cruise ships.

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“NBC wrote an entire sob story featuring a woman who said that ICE arrested her waiter as soon as the ship docked, saying that migrant rights groups are demanding cruise lines do more to protect their employees,” Hughes said.

She also pointed to headlines published by Yahoo News and other outlets that described stunned passengers witnessing arrests aboard cruise ships docked in California.

“Yahoo News wrote, ICE agents storm Disney Cruise docking in California and arrest multiple staff in front of stunned passengers,” Hughes said.

However, Hughes said the story changed significantly after federal authorities released additional details Thursday morning.

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“Yeah, turns out it wasn't even ICE, it was U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and they were rounding up pedophiles,” Hughes said. “True story.”

According to Hughes, Customs and Border Protection agents conducted enforcement operations aboard several cruise ships docked in San Diego, including a Disney cruise ship, after investigators identified crew members allegedly connected to child pornography offenses.

“By Thursday morning, it was revealed that CBP was carrying out mass arrests of people wanted for possessing and distributing child porn, which happened to include several staffers aboard a Disney cruise ship that had just docked in Southern California,” Hughes said.

Hughes cited information released by Customs and Border Protection concerning the scope of the operation.

“According to us, Customs and Border Protection agents boarded five ships that had just docked in San Diego, including one Disney Cruise,” Hughes said.

She said federal agents questioned dozens of crew members during the investigation.

“They questioned a total of 26 suspected crew members from the Philippines, one from Portugal, and one from Indonesia, all of whom were determined to have either possessed or distributed child pornography,” Hughes said.

According to Hughes, federal authorities revoked the visas of those crew members and began removal proceedings.

“Their visas have been canceled, and they're in the process of being removed from the United States,” Hughes said.

Hughes criticized media organizations for initially portraying the incident as an immigration raid involving innocent workers rather than a criminal investigation involving alleged child exploitation offenses.

“That's what actually happened,” Hughes said.

“No Nazi ICE raids, no targeting poor, helpless migrants who were just trying to make $1; these were child predators working aboard cruise ships designed for children.”

Hughes argued the original reporting spread rapidly online before corrections or clarifications were widely distributed.

“And the media couldn't even be bothered to collect the facts before blasting out their narrative, which is already spread on social media like wildfire,” Hughes said.

She predicted the story would quickly disappear from major coverage now that the original claims surrounding ICE raids and migrant workers had been contradicted by federal authorities.

“And that right there is why you're going to see this story get dropped like a hot rock,” Hughes said.

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