Motel 6 is apparently calling ICE on undocumented guests

At least two Motel 6 locations in Phoenix, Arizona, appear to be regularly sending guest lists to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, resulting in at least 20 arrests of undocumented immigrants at the hotel chain between February and August of this year, the Phoenix New Times reports.

The arrests stem from what ICE officers call "knock and talks," meaning officers show up at a hotel door without a warrant, ostensibly following a "lead," and ask permission to enter. "It's not some big conspiracy," ICE spokesperson Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe told the New Times. "If they're given consent, then they can come in. If they're not, then they can come back with a search warrant."

But employees at Motel 6s offered a different version of events:

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"I don't know how it works, but if you check in and you have a warrant, you're going to get picked up," another Motel 6 employee told New Times. Immigration attorney Denise Aguilar wrote 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."

O'Keefe said she couldn't divulge how the immigrants were being discovered at the hotels. "I wouldn't be able to confirm how we are getting our information," she said. "Those are investigative techniques that we wouldn't be able to talk about." Read the full report here.

Update Sept. 14: Motel 6 issued a corporate statement following the Phoenix New Times report, writing: "[T]his was implemented at the local level without the knowledge of senior management. When we became aware of it last week, it was discontinued. We are currently investigating and will provide more information shortly."