L.A. Councilman Gil Cedillo planned to introduce a motion Tuesday intended to prevent private security companies used by the federal government from detaining migrant children and families in the city’s hotels.
Cedillo, whose district includes a portion of central L.A., announced the proposal after The New York Times over the weekend reported that the Best Western Plus Dragon Gate Inn in Chinatown has held 102 people in ICE custody during the 2020 fiscal year.
Officials told the newspaper that because migrant adults who travel alone are typically held in Border Patrol stations, the people detained in hotels were likely either young migrants who made the journey to the U.S. by themselves or with their parents.
The Best Western in Chinatown is one of many U.S. major chain hotels that participate in migrant detention by a private security company, according to The New York Times.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials assert that children are receiving adequate care while in hotel custody, the newspaper reported. However, those businesses don’t have to follow the health and safety measures required in federal facilities.
According to Cedillo’s office, the councilman’s motion would have the city attorney prepare an ordinance that would prohibit and suspend any certificate of occupancy for a hotel in the city that participates in the practice.
Cedillo described this treatment of migrants “insidious.”
“There is zero tolerance for this cruel practice by the White House to separate and detain migrant children and families, and it is unacceptable not only in the 1st Council District, but in the City of Los Angeles or anywhere in this country,” the councilman said in a statement.
President Donald Trump has cited the coronavirus pandemic for the unprecedented crackdown on immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border. Hotel detentions have proliferated in recent months, The New York Times found.
“This is yet another reason why elections matter,” Cedillo’s statement said. “We must keep our eyes on the prize, vote, and get others to vote to remove President Trump and a new Senate majority that will finally vote and pass immigration reform.”
