Washington’s state attorney general sued Motel 6 on Wednesday, accusing the hotel chain of illegally giving information on thousands of guests to immigration enforcement officials who did not have warrants and who scrutinized guests with Latino-sounding names.
Motel 6 has faced scrutiny since September, when a Phoenix publication uncovered evidence that two Arizona locations had been regularly handing over guests’ information to Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were on the lookout for immigrants staying in the country illegally.
Motel 6 — which has more than 1,400 locations across North America — disavowed the practice and said the information exchange was limited to “the local level without the knowledge of senior management.”
But on Wednesday, Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson of Washington said his office launched its own investigation after the revelations in Arizona and discovered that “disturbing and unlawful” handovers were also routine at several corporate-owned Motel 6 locations in Washington state — suggesting the practice was more widespread than the company had contended.
Read the full story on LATimes.com.
