Garamendi seeks to block use of Cal Maritime’s Golden Bear for ICE deportations

VALLEJO –  U.S. Reps. John Garamendi, D-Vallejo, and Salud Carbajal, D-San Luis Obispo, condemned a reported Trump administration plan to use the Cal Maritime training vessel “Golden Bear” to conduct deportations by sea in a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported that Homeland Security and Defense Department officials are considering a plan to use ships to deport migrants to Central and South America. The report identified the Golden Bear as one of the ships that could be used for the plan. 

“Not only is deporting migrants by ship impractical, but it’s also deeply inhumane,” Garamendi said in a statement. The letter warned that deportations by sea would “take days” and “require many security personnel and cost the taxpayer millions of dollars.” 

The Golden Bear is currently docked at Mare Island where it is used for Cal Maritime classes. But after 30 years of service with the academy, the training vessel is slated for retirement and is expected to be returned to the Maritime administration.

Garamendi pledged to use “every lever of oversight” to block the plan. “Mark my words, Donald Trump, Markwayne Mullin, and ICE will never use the Golden Bear for their mass deportation agenda,” Garamendi said. Both Garamendi and Carbajal are senior members of the House Armed Services Committee.

According to the New York Times report, Defense Department officials have also contacted shipping companies about diverting foreign vessels from Europe to remove migrants from the U.S.. Garamendi’s letter argued that the plan is part of ongoing efforts by the Department of Homeland Security to shift costs of its mass deportation program to the Defense Department. 

Garamendi cited a December 2025 report commissioned by Democratic members of the House and Senate which found that, under the Trump Administration, the Department of Defense had dedicated more than $2 billion to immigration enforcement and planned to spend billions more in the 2026 fiscal year. 

“We have already seen how Trump’s reckless diversion of our government and military resources to support immigration enforcement costs our military readiness,” Garamendi said. “This move would be the same for our sealift capacity.”

Carbajal, who represents Santa Barbara County and portions of San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties, said he opposes the use of the Golden Bear or any vessel for deportations.

“If the Trump administration follows through on this proposal, it would represent another escalation of their brutal immigration enforcement tactics,” Carbajal said. “ICE already operates without sufficient transparency or public accountability, and deploying maritime vessels as floating prisons will only open the door to potentially more abuses.”

Concerns about possible use of the Golden Bear for deportation are compounded by an increase in immigration enforcement in California. A report earlier this month by the Washington Examiner indicated that an enforcement surge was already underway and expected to last at least 45 days, with agents starting in San Diego and working their way north to Los Angeles and San Francisco by November.

According to North Bay Rapid Response, an activist group which tracks immigration enforcement, they have seen an uptick in enforcement actions in the Sacramento area in September and a surge in Northern California in October. 

ICE has operated in Vallejo sporadically, and at times will alert Vallejo police to operations in the city, but not always. Vallejo police records show that the department was aware of at least 21 ICE operations last year.

In response to reports of the immigration enforcement surge, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that President Donald Trump “is using fear and panic as a weapon.” 

“California will stand up for our communities and hold federal agents accountable,” Newsom said. “Know your rights and exercise them safely.”