Two Motel 6 locations in Arizona have been racially profiling and coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to have undocumented immigrant guests arrested, attorneys allege in an explosive Phoenix New Times investigation. When front desk staff at one location asked Manuel Rodriguez-Juarez for identification, “he handed over the only thing he had—a Mexican voter ID card.” Six hours later, ICE was at his motel room door:

A Phoenix New Times review of court records found that between February and August, ICE agents made at least 20 arrests at Motel 6s, showing up roughly every two weeks. (Since many of the documents we reviewed contained only vague details about where ICE encountered an individual, the actual number is likely even higher.) All took place at one of two Motel 6 locations: 4130 North Black Canyon Highway or 1530 North 52nd Drive. Both are in predominantly Latino neighborhoods. New Times was unable to find records indicating that ICE conducted arrests at other local motels during this same time period.

According to the report, Motel 6 management declined to comment, directing Phoenix New Times to a corporate hotline.

Staff, though, were much more forthcoming about events: “Unofficially … employees at both locations said it was standard practice to share guest information with ICE. ‘We send a report every morning to ICE—all the names of everybody that comes in,’ one front-desk clerk explained. ‘Every morning at about 5 o’clock, we do the audit and we push a button and it sends it to ICE.’”

“One thing that we do know: Motel 6 is extremely enthusiastic about cooperating with law enforcement, and, elsewhere in the country, has been criticized by the ACLU for sharing guest lists with local police”: