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At least two Motel 6 locations in Phoenix, Arizona reported guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It was also rumored that ICE paid out $200 for every undocumented immigrant caught. A PR director from Motel 6's parent company confirmed that staff members at the locations were working with ICE without the approval of senior management:
At least two Motel 6 locations in Arizona are reporting their guest lists to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, which has resulted in at least 20 arrests, according to local media.
Phoenix New Times reported on Wednesday that two franchise locations of the motel chain are sending their guest lists to ICE agents "every morning," and possibly receiving $200 per undocumented immigrant caught in the sting.
"We send a report every morning to ICE — all the names of everybody that comes in," one front-desk clerk told the Times. "Every morning at about 5 o'clock, we do the audit and we push a button and it sends it to ICE."
Immigration attorney Denise Aguilar wrote The New Times in an email that some of her clients "have heard (no telling how valid the info is) that ICE is paying $200 per person for the front-desk clerk to report."
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that law enforcement must obtain a warrant to search hotel/motel registries.
Also at The Washington Post, NY Mag, and Vice.
[Ed. Addition] A follow-on story at Phoenix New Times After New Times Story, Motel 6 Says It Will Stop Sharing Guest Lists With ICE raises many interesting questions about the situation, and then was itself updated:
Update, 3:25 p.m.: Motel 6 has issued another statement in response to our story on their practice of sharing guest lists with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement:
"Over the past several days, it was brought to our attention that certain local Motel 6 properties in the Phoenix-area were voluntarily providing daily guest lists to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). As previously stated, this was undertaken at the local level without the knowledge of senior management. When we became aware of it, it was discontinued.
Moving forward, to help ensure that this does not occur again, we will be issuing a directive to every one of our more than 1,400 locations nationwide, making clear that they are prohibited from voluntarily providing daily guest lists to ICE.
Additionally, to help ensure that our broader engagement with law enforcement is done in a manner that is respectful of our guests' rights, we will be undertaking a comprehensive review of our current practices and then issue updated, company-wide guidelines.
Protecting the privacy and security of our guests are core values of our company. Motel 6 apologizes for this incident and will continue to work to earn the trust and patronage of our millions of loyal guests."
Related: (Rhode Island) ACLU Statement On "Change" In Motel 6 Policy of Sharing Guest List (2015)
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Friday September 15 2017, @11:10AM (14 children)
If you "volunteer" information that belongs to your employer, say, for $200, have you broken the law? Will you be fired when your employer finds out?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Friday September 15 2017, @11:21AM (8 children)
It should be *very* illegal to share *any* customer information without their consent. Although, apparently, their policy indicates that they make share data with government agencies.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Ethanol-fueled on Friday September 15 2017, @02:06PM (6 children)
These are illegals we're talking about here.
If I ran a motel I'd do it for free. Hell, if I taught at a school or college I'd do it for free.
Just 5 minutes ago those illegal scum were all for La Raza and La Reconquista, now they're crying because they have to return to MEH-HEE-COE.
Serves those bastid cucharachas right.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 15 2017, @02:17PM (4 children)
YES!!!
Don't get pissed at America for enforcing the law. Get pissed at your parents, coyotes, and everyone else involved in BREAKING THE LAW!! Dreamers, my ass.
Oh yeah, the dreamers are kinda special. They've been here five years, ten, twenty, maybe even thirty years. They've been educated in our school systems. They've learned how and why they should become citizens. Now, we have a president who actually gives a damn, he's gonna deport dreamers. Hey, guess what? If the damned dreamers had taken time off of dreaming, and gotten themselves NATURALIZED, The Orange One couldn't touch them!!
Cry me a river for those illegal aliens.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 15 2017, @03:24PM (3 children)
They cant be naturalized because they are illegals. Thats the catch twenty two here. They are considered illegal, through the fault of their parents. Due to that they cannot become a citizen unless they go to their home country for ten years.
Give them a path towards citizenship and we wont have this BS going on. Tell them if they join the military and serve honorably for four years they can become citizens. Maybe if they earn a merit based academic scholarship after they graduate they can become citizens, etc.
I mean as long as they pay taxes, commit no serious crimes (lets not count minor in possession or jaywalking or stuff ok?) and do something to better our country like serving in the military or earning a four year degree whats the issue with them becoming citizens? I can think of people born here who do much less for our country that we'd all be better off sending them somewhere else.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 15 2017, @03:56PM
Odd - it's been like - ohhhh - hell, it's six years now. Cesar was one of those dreamers. He was brought here as a baby, and he determined to get his citizenship. Really cool guy, about 24, was married to an anchor baby named Christina. Chris is a really smart girl, and she was helping Cesar get all his stuff in order. He and I would go over the citizenship test late at night when we worked together. That young man had his shit together. Hell, they both did.
I don't know all the legalities, but I know at least ONE dreamer who became a citizen.
I'm about to fall into bed, before I fall on the floor, but this link suggests there are at least 4 paths to citizenship for dreamers - https://citizenpath.com/paths-to-legal-status-undocumented/ [citizenpath.com]
I plan on reading it when I get up . . . .
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Anal Pumpernickel on Friday September 15 2017, @11:24PM (1 child)
I'm not convinced that serving in the military is automatically good for the country; we are currently doing about seven different unjustifiable interventions in other countries, and becoming a part of that means you become a part of the problem.
Having a degree does not necessarily indicate that someone is educated. The only way you can conclude that would be by using the most pathetic standards imaginable. Evaluate someone by their concrete accomplishments, not by their supposed education level (with the incredibly low standards many schools have, getting a degree is hardly impressive by itself).
I disagree slightly with the details, but not the sentiment.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Saturday September 16 2017, @02:41PM
Both are a proxy for not being completely financially mismanaged (main way to screw up a clearance in the military) and able to participate in society at a level high enough to accomplish some minor tasks without ending up in jail. Plenty of anti-social locals of the lower IQ strata can't pull that off. The really low IQ people with downs syndrome etc get government appointed and paid helpers to keep them in line, there's a donut hole from like 60 IQ up to 90 IQ where if the citizen doesn't have a good social game to fall back on, they're gonna end up in the criminal justice system. Whaddya do with an IQ 90 antisocial personality dude, to keep him out of trouble? As a country/civilization we don't have a plan for those folks.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by bob_super on Friday September 15 2017, @08:03PM
> > It should be *very* illegal to share *any* customer information without their consent.
> These are illegals we're talking about here.
You don't know that until you give the database to the cops.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Friday September 15 2017, @05:52PM
> It should be *very* illegal to share *any* customer information without their consent.
Hey! I've got a mortgage to pay! Why are you trying to pop the tech bubble?
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Friday September 15 2017, @04:29PM
Your question reminds me of this [ambians.com]. Thank you!
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by VLM on Friday September 15 2017, @05:51PM
They could NSL them, regardless if they can legally NSL or not. Also beat cops will lay down the law about interfering with investigations and stuff like that.
You also have to be realistic. Whats in it for me personally to help people break a law I agree with, vs helping the cops? "I luv illegals" is very online antifa but has very little public support. You'd have better luck convincing people not to rat out drug dealers or crooked politicians, which is not hyperbole.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Friday September 15 2017, @05:53PM
The practice will be stopped. I doubt there is grounds for firing anyone.
But the wording of Motel 6's corporate statement suggests that those involved may have been acting according to local management's directives. So no indication of theft of information.
And the fact that Motel 6 stated they will be tightening up their directives suggests the local management were operating within the scope of their local managerial discretion. It was an automated process.
In fact, I suspect it was an employee who blew the whistle on this whole process.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by jmorris on Friday September 15 2017, @06:48PM (1 child)
The folks manning the registration desk at a Motel 6 are barely above minimum wage. For them $200 is a lot of cash, the risk of being fired is small and another job at the same wage is easy enough, probably at the hotel across the intersection. The lede here is ICE has finally started doing something sensible and paying for intel. Something that should have been happening for decades, would have been happening if the Federal Government weren't playing a game with illegal immigration. It is the single most hopeful sign I have read since Trump was sworn in that we might actually be going to make a serious attempt at restoring the Rule of Law.
And Soylent is the first site I have seen even putting the bounties in the first paragraph of their coverage. So there is that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 16 2017, @10:41PM
Wonder how many "illegals" work at the Trump properties?