An ID card from Puerto Rico is a valid piece of U.S. identification because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the United States and the people living there are American citizens. That’s been true since 1917. But for one couple trying to spend the night at a Motel 6 in Rancho Cordova, which is in Sacramento County, California, that wasn’t good enough. As KRCA 3 reported, the Puerto Rican couple were visiting for their niece’s wedding when they found themselves being left out in the cold by the clerk on duty.
When Raul Villanueva presented his Puerto Rican driver’s license late Wednesday night, the clerk told him, “Oh, you need a license from the United States,” he said.
“I said, ‘This is a license from the United States, that’s Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is the United States.’ She said, ‘No, it isn’t,’” Villanueva said.
The couple reportedly called Motel 6’s corporate office and received a verbal apology on the phone. According to KCRA 3 the couple, who ended up spending the night at a relative’s place, have yet to receive a refund from Motel 6. As a commenter brought up in discussion down below, Motel 6 doesn’t have a good track record when it comes to protecting people and customers who can be profiled by the likes of ICE.
Employees at Motel 6 locations in Arizona regularly handed over to the government information that led to its hotel guests being detained and deported, the company has acknowledged.
[...]
Referring to the sharing of customer information in Arizona with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, Raiza Rehkoff, a spokeswoman for G6 Hospitality, the Texas-based parent company of Motel 6, said in an email that “this was implemented at the local level without the knowledge of senior management.” G6 Hospitality is controlled by Blackstone, one of the world’s largest private equity firms.
I guess Motel 6 doesn’t “leave the light on for you” if you aren’t white?