A federal judge has given final approval to a multimillion-dollar class-action settlement between Motel 6 and a Latino civil rights group. The case sprang from a 2017 story by Phoenix New Times about Motel 6 staff sharing guest information with federal immigration authorities. 

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office wanted the judge to say no to the deal between Motel 6 and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The reason was that Motel 6 guests whose information was shared, or had immigration authorities knock on their door, ultimately could end up getting less than half of a $10 million pot.

But the judge wrote that the Attorney General’s Office did not give data to back up its argument that individual payouts for Motel 6 guests are too low.

And the judge also wrote that the chunk of unclaimed cash that will go to groups that help immigrants is in line with circuit-court-case law.  

The Attorney General's Office issued a statement saying, "Our primary focus is always to fight for victims and make sure they receive adequate restitution when they are harmed. We’re pleased our efforts resulted in more money for victims and that additional consumers were identified as a result of our efforts to hold the parties accountable.”