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Emigration and immigration

Marriott's Pledge to Not Detain Immigrants Contradicted by Reports of ICE Use at Louisiana Sheraton Hotel

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

A Louisiana hotel owned by Marriott, a major hospitality chain, has been allegedly used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold immigrants awaiting deportation, despite the company's pledge not to do so. According to reports, the Sheraton hotel on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria was used to detain Edison Iza and his 15-year-old son in August, who were eventually deported to Ecuador. The hotel's use by ICE appears to contradict Marriott's 2019 statement that its hotels would not be used as detention facilities.

The reports also suggest that other hotels in the area have been used to hold immigrant families. A person with knowledge of the Louisiana Sheraton's operations told The Guardian that they believed the venue had been used to detain immigrant families and unaccompanied children since its renovation in late 2023. ICE contractors who assist with transferring unaccompanied minors had been observed operating at the Sheraton since June.

Key Takeaways:

  • A Louisiana Sheraton hotel, owned by Marriott, was allegedly used by ICE to detain Edison Iza and his 15-year-old son in August.
  • The hotel's use by ICE appears to contradict Marriott's 2019 pledge that its hotels would not be used as detention facilities.
  • A person with knowledge of the Louisiana Sheraton's operations believes the venue has been used to detain immigrant families and unaccompanied children since its renovation in late 2023.
  • ICE contractors who assist with transferring unaccompanied minors were observed operating at the Sheraton since June.
  • Other hotels in the area have also been used to hold immigrant families.
  • The hospitality industry is susceptible to ICE raids and immigration crackdowns, with a high percentage of undocumented workers in the industry (about a third of housekeepers, a quarter of cooks, and one fifth of waitstaff are undocumented).
  • The Department of Homeland Security issued guidance in 2023 that ICE agents were not to conduct raids at hotels, restaurants, and farms, but this guidance was swiftly reversed.

Statistics:

  • About a third of housekeepers, a quarter of cooks, and one fifth of waitstaff employed by the U.S. hotel industry are undocumented, according to the 2023 census.
  • The number of ICE detentions at hotels and other private facilities has increased in recent years, with 58,656 ICE detentions recorded in 2022.
  • 251 hotels and other private facilities were used to hold ICE detainees in 2022, according to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University.

Sources:

  • The Intercept
  • The Guardian
  • ABC News (July 2019)
  • The American Historical Association
  • The Washington Post (June 2023)
  • The Independent
  • Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University

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