Motel 6 will pay $ 12 million after several institutions have handed over their list of guests to ICE



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Between 2015 and 2017, seven state-run Motel 6 offices shared personal information from approximately 80,000 ICE clients without a warrant, the Attorney General's Office announced in a press release issued this year. week.

Guest lists contained private information about all hotel guests, thus violating their privacy expectations.

Revelations from the hotel chain "have resulted in a targeted investigation by ICE on many Latin American-sounding names," the statement said. The actions of Motel 6 had "significant detrimental consequences, including the detention and expulsion of many guests and the suffering of their families".

During the Attorney General's investigation, the hotel chain acknowledged that at least six of its offices in the state of Washington had shared client information with ICE, according to the press release. The survey revealed that a seventh place had also provided information to immigration authorities.

"The actions of Motel 6 have torn families apart and violated the privacy rights of tens of thousands of Washingtonians," Ferguson said in a statement. "Our resolution holds the Motel 6 responsible for the illegal disclosure of customers' confidential information without a warrant."

"Any other case that tries to violate the privacy rights of the Washingtonians can expect news from my office," he added.

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The attorney general's office said the $ 12 million would be compensated for the 80,000 guests whose information had been communicated to the federal immigration authorities.

A spokesman for Motel 6 confirmed in a statement that he had reached an agreement and that he would continue to enforce his privacy policy, which prohibits the sharing of customer information, except in cases where a warrant or an enforceable summons is present, or the law requires this information. "

"The safety of our customers, including the protection of their information, is our top priority, and we are delighted to find a solution to this problem."

Ferguson's office filed the lawsuit in January 2018 after two Motel 6 establishments in Arizona were charged with providing information about guests to federal immigration officers.

The chain reached a tentative settlement agreement in this case last summer.

CNN's Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.

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