A Louisiana hotel owned by a major chain has been used to hold immigrants awaiting deportation despite the company’s pledge not to do so, according to new reports.
The Intercept first reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement allegedly used a Sheraton hotel on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria earlier this month, located near a central ICE holding facility.
Edison Iza and his 15-year-old son were arrested on August 9 before reportedly being sent to the Louisiana Sheraton, along with other venues in the state and in Texas, before being deported to Ecuador five days later.
Iza shared phone-tracking information with the publication as evidence, which The Guardian later reviewed.
A person with knowledge of the Louisiana Sherton’s operations told the British newspaper they believed the venue had been used to detain immigrant families and unaccompanied children since it was renovated in late 2023.
ICE contractors known to assist with transferring unaccompanied minors had been observed operating at the Sheraton since June, the source said. They added that other hotels in the area have also been used to hold immigrant families.
The reports appear to contradict a Marriott pledge, made during Donald Trump’s first term, that ICE would not use its hotels and properties to detain immigrants.
It came after sources told ABC News in July 2019 that the Trump administration had internally discussed the possibility of using hotel rooms due to limited capacity in detention centers.
“Our hotels are not configured to be detention facilities, but to be open to guests and community members as well,” a company spokesperson told the news station at the time. “While we have no particular insights into whether the U.S. government is considering the use of hotels to aid in the situation at the border, Marriott has made the decision to decline any requests to use our hotels as detention facilities.”
The American Historical Association, a network of professional historians, released a statement of its appreciation for Marriott’s “principled stand” and noted the importance of immigrants to the hotel and related industries.
The hospitality industry is especially susceptible to ICE raids and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, with a high percentage of undocumented workers in the industry.
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 Department of Homeland Security issued guidance earlier this year that ICE agents were not to conduct raids at hotels, restaurants, and farms, which was swiftly reversed, The Washington Post reported in June.
The Independent has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and Marriott for more information.
