Washington state sues Motel 6 for giving guest info to immigration authorities

Jimmy Bernhard and Natalie Brand | KING-TV, Seattle

Show Caption Hide Caption Wash. Attorney General sues Motel 6 over fed disclosures Washington state’s attorney general is suing Motel 6, saying the budget hotel disclosed the personal information of thousands of guests to federal immigration authorities in violation of state law. (Jan. 3)

SEATTLE — The Washington attorney general announced Wednesday the state is suing hotel chain Motel 6 for providing guest lists to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for at least two years without the guests' knowledge or consent.

The guest list information Motel 6 provided included names, date of births, room numbers, license and license plate numbers, and other private information.

Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office filed the suit in King County Superior Court against Motel 6 Wednesday morning.

According to Ferguson, Motel 6 admitted that at least six Washington state locations shared guest information with ICE. This information led to at least six individuals being detained.

Previously: Motel 6: Phoenix properties will stop sharing guest lists with ICE

More: Refugee admissions to U.S. plummet in 2017

Four of the six locations released personal information of at least 9,151 guests, even though their privacy policy assured consumers it would protect the information. Motel 6 has not provided any information on the other two Washington state locations that shared information with ICE agents.

Ferguson says the number of guests affected will likely increase, as Motel 6 provides additional information over the course of the lawsuit.

“Motel 6 will be held accountable for their misconduct,” Attorney General Ferguson said during a press conference.

The voluntary release of information by Motel 6 violates the Consumer Protection Act, and is an unfair and deceptive business practice, the lawsuit says.

Ferguson launched his investigation after reading about a similar case in Phoenix. In September, the Phoenix New Times uncovered two Phoenix-area Motel 6 locations regularly handing over guest information to ICE.

Motel 6 indicated it would stop the practice and claimed it had been “undertaken at the local level without the knowledge of senior management,” according to the Phoenix New Times.

“It was not isolated to two hotels in Phoenix, not by a long shot,” said Ferguson. “The company's actions were methodical. They trained their new employees on how to do this.”

The Attorney General's Office says the violations go back at least two years, dating back to 2015, under two presidential administrations.

So far only corporate locations are listed in the suit, not franchises.

Motel 6 Corporate released this statement Wednesday afternoon: