Motel 6 Will Pay $12 Million to Washington State for Cooperating with Federal Immigration Officials
by Penny Starr
The Motel 6 hotel chain will pay $12 million to the state of Washington because several of its properties in the state reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that some guests could be in the United States illegally.
In 2013, the King County Washington City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits law enforcement from cooperating with ICE unless a warrant has been issued for an individual.
Washington state Office of the Attorney General announced the settlement on Thursday.
“Many Motel 6 locations in Washington turned over the personal information of their guests to ICE on a daily basis without requiring a warrant,” the press release said. “From 2015 to 2017, seven Washington locations shared the personal information of approximately 80,000 guests.”
“Each time Motel 6 released a guest list, it included the private information of every guest at the hotel without their knowledge or consent, violating their expectation of privacy,” the press release said.
The Office of the Attorney General said because of Motel 6’s cooperation with ICE “many Washington consumers faced questioning from ICE, detainment or deportation.”
“Motel 6’s actions tore families apart and violated the privacy rights of tens of thousands of Washingtonians,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement. “Our resolution holds Motel 6 accountable for illegally handing over guests’ private information without a warrant. Any other business that tries to violate Washingtonians’ right to privacy can expect to hear from my office.”
National Public Radio (NPR) said it is the second settlement Motel 6 has reached with the state in recent months and the corporation also settled a separate lawsuit in Arizona.
“Motel 6 has also signed a legally binding commitment to no longer share guest information without a warrant at any of its locations nationwide, a practice the chain says it has already ended,” NPR reported.