The budget motel chain Motel 6 has recently become part of the debate over illegal immigration because of its policies. According to media outlet The Washington Post, employees at two locations in Phoenix, Arizona have been sending guest information directly to Immigration and Custom Enforcements on a daily basis.
The hotels are located in a heavy Latino area and because of the reports to immigration at least 20 hotel guests have been arrested for immigration violations from February thru August. The actual number of arrests may, in fact, be higher because of a lack of reliable court records in the city. Employees at the two locations in Phoenix stated to media, “We send a report every morning to ICE — all the names of everybody that comes in. Every morning at about 5 o’clock, we do the audit and we push a button and it sends it to ICE.”
The hotels in question are owned by the corporations and are not franchises, which has caused outrage and embarrassment. Motel 6 responded in a statement, which says in part, “This was implemented at the local level without the knowledge of senior management. When we became aware of it last week, it was discontinued.”
The company went on to state that it has given instructions to its 1,400 locations across the United States that employees are now prohibited from voluntarily giving daily guest lists to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The company’s Twitter page was filled with comments from users who expressed disgust at Motel 6 for its actions and many have posted that they will no longer stay at the motel chain.
