While the majority of mass deportations in the United States are carried out by air and ground transportation, the Trump administration has discussed using ships — one being Cal Poly Maritime Academy’s Training Ship Golden Bear.
“It’s kind of absurd that we’re talking about putting hundreds, if not thousands of people on a [ship] and shipping them to Central or South America,” said Jared Van Ramshorst, a political science professor.
The last major operation to mass deport people from the U.S. by sea was in the 1950s, when hundreds of thousands of Mexican immigrants were deported in buses, trucks, trains and ships. Van Ramshorst called the conditions aboard ships awful and is concerned about the conditions of ships in the current preliminary proposal.
Seven deportees jumped off of one of the ships and drowned, leading to a mutiny and public backlash. The operation ended in 1954 as funding ran out.
The Golden Bear has a 30-year history with Maritime
Carlos Arencibia, marine transportation senior and chair of the ASI Maritime Academy Council, said the academy is in constant communication with the United States Maritime Administration, but they have not heard anything yet.
“Nothing was brought before them, nothing was told to them at all,” Arencibia said. “We just know it’s speculation at this point because we haven’t been contacted by anyone.”
For 30 years, the Golden Bear has taken first- and third-year cadets on training voyages abroad. Its final voyage departed in May, taking 300 students across the sea, stopping in San Diego, Tahiti, Fiji and Honolulu.
“Every sea you go to, there’s a student that probably trained on the Golden Bear,”
Carlos Arencibia, chair of the ASI Maritime Academy Council
“Every sea you go to, there’s a student that probably trained on the Golden Bear,” Arencibia said.
He said there was a lot of concern from Maritime students on the Trump administration possibly using the Golden Bear. Arencibia said Cal Poly Maritime now uses the Golden Bear as a classroom, and it is intended to remain as one through the end of the school year. However, students do not know its future plans and if they will be able to use it for another summer or not.
Assemblymember Dawn Addis stated her concern for the next generation of Maritime students in an email to Mustang News.
“To use a vessel dedicated to maritime education undermines the next generation of maritime professionals who help protect our ports, shipping networks and keep our national economy secure,” she wrote.
“[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] already operates without sufficient transparency or public accountability and deploying maritime vessels as floating prisons will only open the door to potentially more abuses,”
Salud Carbajal, U.S. representative
Rep. Salud Carbajal also disapproved of the Trump administration’s preliminary discussion. Carbajal wrote in an email to Mustang News that the proposal represents another escalation of brutal immigration tactics from the Trump administration.
“[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] already operates without sufficient transparency or public accountability, and deploying maritime vessels as floating prisons will only open the door to potentially more abuses,” he wrote.
Carbajal wrote that he firmly opposes the federal government using the Golden Bear or any other ship for mass deportations and wrote that he will fight the plan every step of the way.
Deportation is carried out locally
The United States conducted 980,000 deportations in the first 18 months of Trump’s second term, according to data collected by the Migration Policy Institute.
Primitiva Hernández, executive director of 805 UndocuFund, said ICE has taken over 3,000 community members from Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo since January 2025.
805 UndocuFund is a rapid-response network for Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo. The organization documents local immigration enforcement activity, posts ICE vehicles and provides financial relief for families in crisis.
The organization relies on communities to report what ICE vehicles look like and where ICE is operating. Hernández said they receive dozens and dozens of reports everyday through their 24-hour hotline.
“We believe we are going through a voter suppression operation known as ‘Operation Safe California’ that started on Oct. 5 here in the Central Coast,” Hernández said.
“Operation Safe California” is an unconfirmed surge in ICE activity expected to last at least 45 days, overlapping with statewide elections. Federal agents were reportedly told to arrest anyone they deem undocumented, according to the California Immigrant Policy Center.
805 UndocuFund has recorded over 175 community members taken from the Central Coast region since Oct. 5, when the alleged operation was launched.
Hernández emphasized the financial strain put on families when someone is taken by ICE.
“Most of the time, it’s the main breadwinner that is being ripped from their household, leaving families to bear their financial responsibilities alone, in addition to having to come up with large amounts of money to fight the deportation case of their loved one,” Hernández said.
She also said that many at-risk community members are not as comfortable leaving their homes and only spend time outside for basic needs and work rather than entertainment, which negatively affects the local economy.
“Those impacts are being felt, especially by small business owners that depend on the immigrant community for their businesses,” Hernández said.
Cities across the United States have lost up to $14 billion in consumer spending in 2025 due to ICE raids, according to research from a University of Pennsylvania professor.
Students and professors speak out
Cal Poly Democrats President Talie Krantz said she thinks even if someone is not affected themselves, they should stay educated about what is happening and use their privilege to speak up for others.
“I think part of what’s really hard about U.S. politics right now is that you’re constantly overloaded with all sorts of negative things happening,” Krantz said. “I really want to encourage students: Don’t disengage from it, don’t turn away just because you may not be personally affected by it.”
Decisions regarding the Golden Bear’s future rest with the federal government, as it is owned by the U.S. Maritime Administration, according to University Spokesperson Keegan Koberl.
Although decisions are outside of the academy’s authority, Van Ramshorst said he thinks students should be familiar with the preliminary plans for the ship. He encouraged students to research the history of maritime deportations and think about how they want to respond to immigration enforcement.
This story originally appeared in the October printed edition of Mustang News. Check out more stories from the issue here.