Washington state sues Motel 6 for sharing guest data with immigration agents

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Motel 6 was sued on Wednesday by Washington state’s attorney general, who accused the discount hotel chain of illegally providing guest lists to U.S. immigration authorities, knowing of their interest in people with “Latino-sounding” names.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson said six Motel 6 locations in Washington provided names, birth dates, license plates and other personal information belonging to at least 9,151 guests to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from June 2015 to May 2017.

Ferguson said Motel 6 knew ICE used guest lists to target people based on their national origin, and that the disclosures led to detentions of at least six people.

Motel 6 is controlled by private equity firm Blackstone Group LP (BX.N), which bought the brand in 2012.

-snip-

#U.S. JANUARY 3, 2018 / 6:57 PM / UPDATED 33 MINUTES AGO
Jonathan Stempel
3 MIN READ


Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-blackstone-motel6-lawsuit/washington-state-sues-motel-6-for-sharing-guest-data-with-immigration-agents-idUSKBN1ES273

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Wowzer

If you are not entitled to a sound night's sleep, especially in a room you've paid for, I don't know what the world is coming to.

"Latino-sounding" names ... such filtering could put anyone at risk if they concoct a dragnet for your ethnic group.

[Initech]

2. Motel 6: We'll leave the light on for you until you GTFO out of this country.

[dlk]

3. Blackstone CEO, Steve Schwarzman, is a Trumper Known for His Decadence

[theaocp]

4. No worries

I’ll never stay there and I will happily tell them why, along with my recommendation for not staying there for anyone I know. Fuck them. Money talks, mf.

[iluvtennis]

5. This is so shameful and violation of ones rights. I'm boycotting Motel 6.

[Hortensis]

7. A little embarrassed to say my boycott may cost them

$45 or $90 next year (we're cheap and sometimes stop there), but they're off my list also.

[iluvtennis]

9. I'm with you. Need to be budget conscious, but spying on immigrants is a deal breaker for me

[byronius]

6. I wrote Motel 6 this email:

Subject: History says cooperating with Nazis usually doesn't turn out well.

Body: Just saying. I've stayed in many a Motel 6, never knew the company was like this. Turning human beings over to hired guns controlled by a Russian traitor is not going to read well in the future. That was really stupid.

You should probably stop right now and focus on damage control.

No response necessary. I won't be staying with you ever again.

Sincerely,

Actual American and dedicated Russian Nazi Hater.

[BigmanPigman]

8. Yeah WA state and AG, fuck off Motel 6!

So much for "no-tell motel".

[Hortensis]

10. Arizona also, and probably other states it operates in.

LA Times:

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.

"It was not isolated to two motels in Phoenix, not by a long shot. The company's actions were methodical. They trained their new employees on how to do this," Ferguson said. "We're going to find out who at Motel 6 knew what, and when they knew it."

He said the names of "many thousands" of Washington residents and visitors staying at Motel 6 had been turned over to the federal government "without their knowledge, without their consent."

Ferguson said Motel 6 staffers told investigators that "the ICE agents circled any Latino or Latina-sounding names on the guest registry, and returned to their vehicles" to run background checks.

Back in September after being caught out, Motel 6 corp said it'd no longer do this, but way too late. My husband agrees, these fascists who'd betray their own customers to ICE are off our list permanently. If they were circling Jewish names, our road tour could have come to a very unpleasant end.

[pnwmom]

11. Yay for our Attorney General and our Governor, both Democrats. n/t

[mr_lebowski]

12. And started under Obama ... I always laughed at the wingnuts who tried to claim Obama ...

Had 'thrown the door open to illegals, to gain votes for Democrats' when nothing could be further from the truth. He was really more like the Deporter-In-Chief, kicking out FAR more people than Bush or anyone before him had EVER done.

Honestly, the practice by the Government of kicking out actual, adult 'illegal immigrants' is way low on my list of 'concerns' as a Liberal. As long as it's done with people from EVERYWHERE, and not just Brown People. And that they're treated humanely, don't have their property confiscated in the process, etc.

We do have to have borders, and I know a great many 'legal' immigrants who did everything 'right', and it was a LOT of work and dedication to do so. And most of them are not fans of 'illegals' who have skirted the rules, even from their same country of origin.

Dreamers are different, and we should DEFINITELY focus efforts on actual criminals and new-arrivals FIRST ... and I think Motel 6 is FUCKED UP for doing this ... but I'm no big fan of illegal adult immigrants ... of any color. It's not fair.

We do need reform of the system though, esp. for seasonal workers.

And I know it's like DU Sacrilege, but I'd not be entirely against changing the rules via Constitutional Amendment, such that simply being 'born in US territory' via ANY means ... makes you a US Citizen, no matter what. That's actually not how the vast majority of the world works, and I don't see why we have to do it that way here, either. I don't support doing it RETROACTIVELY, however. Hell no.