Phoenix Veteran Handcuffed by Border Patrol Agents in Cabin of Miami Cruise Ship in Apparent Name Mix-Up

A Phoenix man returning from a Caribbean cruise was pulled from his bed and detained by Border Patrol agents in Miami on Monday, an episode he and his wife say appears to have been a case of mistaken identity.

Jose "Joey" Martinez and his wife, Tammy Verhas, were sleeping aboard a Carnival Cruise Line ship when, they say, a group of agents entered their room around 6:30 a.m. shouting. The couple say the agents removed Martinez from the bed, handcuffed him and took him to a holding cell. He was held for roughly an hour and a half.

According to Martinez, the agents told him he had been flagged because someone with the same name was wanted for a crime. He said that after the agents fingerprinted and photographed him and confirmed who he was, they spoke openly among themselves about their belief that it was a name mismatch, since the person with warrants shared his first and last name.

Martinez said he does not understand why the agents did not simply ask him or the cruise line for his identifying details before entering the room. He noted that booking a cruise requires travelers to provide flight information, a known traveler number, a passport and facial recognition. "If they did their due diligence, this never should have happened," he said.

He said he was carrying a passport and a Real ID, which doubles as a driver's license, as well as a veteran card and a concealed carry permit. The permit requires an FBI background check, and he also holds TSA PreCheck, which involves its own screening. Carnival Cruise Line did not respond to a request for comment. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson declined to answer questions about the detention but confirmed that "U.S. Customs and Border Protection took a guest into custody as a person of interest."

The couple described the agents as about three men and one woman, all dressed in black and armed, and said they were unsure whether the agents were with ICE or CBP. Verhas said she began filming when they came in, but the female agent "jumped on top of [her] in bed" and took her phone. The agents told Martinez to delete the video in front of them or they would not return the phone. He complied, though he said he wishes he had not.

Verhas said she was hysterical as her husband was taken away. "He has no record. He's never been arrested. He's a veteran. He has been FBI cleared," she said, adding that her main worry was the trauma of those 90 minutes. Born in Belgium, she holds dual citizenship and was naturalized in 2007. Martinez was born in Thailand to a father who served in the Air Force, was naturalized early and has lived mostly in California and Arizona. The couple say they are considering a move to Belgium to feel safer, and Verhas said she would go tomorrow if money were not an obstacle.

Both believe racial profiling was likely a factor. Martinez said he is used to some "harassment" because of his common Hispanic name, and that immigration officers would normally pull the couple aside, ask questions and let him provide information. "But this was way out of line," he said. "I think I got off easy because I did everything that they wanted me to do," he added, saying the episode still should not have happened the way it did.

The couple say they do not consider themselves very political but have grown far more concerned over the past year. Verhas said anyone "brown" in the United States should be scared right now. They said they are sharing their story to show it can happen to anyone. "On Monday, we were devastated. We were traumatized," Verhas said. "Now I'm enraged."