Ice used Marriott chain to detain immigrants, despite hotel's 2019 pledge not to cooperate

Source: The Guardian

Tue 19 Aug 2025 14.34 EDT
Last modified on Tue 19 Aug 2025 17.54 EDT


A Sheraton hotel in Louisiana has been used by immigration officials to hold people who are being deported, in what appears to be a contradiction of a position Sheraton’s parent company, Marriott, took in 2019 when it said its properties would not be used in cooperation with Ice.

The Intercept first reported that the hotel, located on MacArthur Drive in Alexandria, Louisiana, near a major deportation hub and airport used by Ice, had been used by immigration officials earlier this month to hold a father and his teenage son for four days after their arrest in New York. They were then deported to Ecuador. The Intercept cited phone-tracking evidence that had been shared with the publication and was later seen by the Guardian.

The evidence corroborates the account of a source with knowledge of hotel operations in Alexandria, who told the Guardian that they believed the venue had been used to detain immigrant families and unaccompanied children since it was renovated in late 2023. The source observed Ice contractors known to assist in the transfer of unaccompanied minors operating at the Sheraton as recently as June of this year.

The source added that other hotels in the area have also been used to hold immigrant families. It is not clear whether Marriott has a formal contract with Ice or what the company knows about Ice’s use of the Sheraton in Alexandria.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/19/ice-marriott-hotel-detentions