State lawmakers and immigrant rights activists today demanded that employees of two Motel 6 facilities in Phoenix, Arizona, who reported to the Immigration Services to several guests receive punishment for their “racial practices.”
Congregated today outside the Motel 6 where the latest immigration cases were reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), dozens of politicians and activists raised their voices on behalf of the “victims” “.
A report from the Phoenix New Times newspaper revealed Wednesday that at least 20 undocumented immigrants were arrested at two Motel 6 locations in Phoenix between February and August.
According to this publication, employees of these two establishments sent a report every day to the local ICE office that included the names of their guests.
Those attending today’s concentration called the treatment of immigrants “unfair” and “illegal”.
Democrat Catherine Miranda, a member of the Arizona State Senate, told Efe they are working to stop curbing policies that hurt the Latino community, which is a huge economic support in the country.
“It’s horrible what’s happening at the Motel 6, it’s the same practices that were implemented with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, it’s like he came back. We’re here to give support to the Latino community from Congress,” he said.
César Chávez, a member of the House of Representatives in the Arizona Congress, told Efe that they feel compelled to “spread the word” at the federal level to take action against these anti-immigrant practices.
“We are not going to go door to door like the Nazis did to arrest people simply because they are not under a certain category. raise your voice, enough, we are no longer to accept this type of treatment, “he said.
But not only members of the Arizona Latino Legislative Caucus joined this lawsuit against employees who violated immigrant privacy.
The Unite Here hotel workers’ union endorsed its support for immigrants who were victims of the “racist” policies of Motel 6 employees.
“Around 20 people were affected by employee practices, that’s why we are here, to stop these practices and protect them, denouncing workers to practice them,” said Lucía Vergara, leader of Unite Here, which represents 27,000 workers in Phoenix (Arizona) and Los Angeles (California).
One of the most reported cases was that of immigrants, Manuel Rodríguez Juárez, 33, who was detained at a Motel 6 in Phoenix last June when he and his partner had to stay at the hotel.
Rodríguez Juárez presented the Mexican voter’s identification credential, which earned him arrest hours later by ICE agents in his hotel room.
But these practices are not recent. Dyrwood Moor, a Phoenix resident, told Efe that he lived a similar experience when he stayed at a Motel 6 seven years ago.
“My father is American and my Mexican mother, because of my skin color they tried me, they violated my privacy, and they broke into my room trying to arrest me, just because of my skin color,” he said.
Olga, a woman who claims to have suffered discrimination, came to today’s demonstration to denounce the “racist” practices of motel chain employees.
“I’ve suffered discrimination, it’s a very bad thing, just because of the skin color, because I’m a brunette, I do not understand. I’m not going to stay there again, my friends and families boycotted the motel,” he told Efe.
The activist Viridiana Hernández stressed that it is thanks to the economy that activists immigrants and Latinos how the businesses located in the neighborhood of Maryvale, where the Motel 6 is where the protest took place.
“These businesses are standing by our community, so we invite Latinos not to stay at the Motel 6, because what they did is so unforgivable that not only affected 20 families, but also created a new fear, no longer you can rent a hotel without thinking that they will deport you, “he told Efe.
Motel 6 said it had halted the practice at two of its locations in Phoenix, Arizona, and said the central administration was unaware that employees shared information with their guests with immigration agents.
