Motel 6 to Pay $10 Million for Sharing Guest Data With ICE

Motel 6 has agreed to pay $10 million to settle claims with former guests targeted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for deportation because of their “Latino-sounding names.” The deal is an amended settlement to resolve a case filed on behalf of unidentified victims of ICE interrogation and deportation after Motel 6 shared its guest lists with federal agents. Some of the 1,400 branches of the discount hotel chain allowed ICE agents to bang on doors during early morning hours to question and detain guests. A November deal to resolve the litigation was panned by an Arizona federal judge in January who questioned whether either side could plausibly identify any of the victims, some of whom may be undocumented immigrants. Among U.S. District Judge David Campbell’s concerns was whether unnamed plaintiffs would be willing to identify themselves to collect damages as low as $50. “I’ve got John Doe names, but I don’t know who these people are,” Campbell said on Jan. 29 during a settlement hearing. “I don’t even know if they’re still in the U.S. Are they in the removal process? If so, do we know where they’re located? How do we get money to them? I don’t know how effective this method will be in compensating them.”...MORE