Motel 6 to pay $10 million lawsuit for sharing Latino-sounding guest list names with ICE

Motel 6 properties in Arizona routinely handed over guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Reuters reported Saturday.

The result is a class-action lawsuit that the hotel chain has agreed to settle for $10 million. The lawsuit was filed in January 2018 on behalf of Motel 6 guests who reported that the chain provided their stay information to ICE because they had Latino last names.

Under the proposed settlement, Motel 6 agrees to abide by a three-year consent decree to not distribute guest information to any immigration authorities without a warrant, and they must provide training on the issues to Motel 6 employees.

“Motel 6 fully recognizes the seriousness of the situation and accepts full responsibility for both compensating those who were harmed and taking the necessary steps to ensure that we protect the privacy of our guests. Since this issue emerged, we’ve taken strong action to make sure a similar issue never happens again in the future,” a spokesman for the company said in a written statement.