Greyhound Settles Lawsuit Over Warrantless Immigration Searches and Detentions in Washington State

The State of Washington filed a lawsuit against Greyhound Lines, Inc. alleging that its conduct in allowing immigration agents to conduct warrantless and suspicionless enforcement actions in the Greyhound station located in Spokane, Washington violated the State’s anti-discrimination protections and the Consumer Protect Act. 

CBP and ICE agents have a history of boarding buses in the Spokane Greyhound station and detaining passengers to inquire about their immigration status. In January 2019, comedian Mohanad Elshieky was detained by CBP agents at the Greyhound station in Spokane and the incident resulted in CBP paying Elshieky a settlement of $35,000 after Elshieky sued for unlawful detention. The Spokane City Council attempted to ban the practice of immigration agents boarding buses at the station but the government released a memo taking the position that the practice is protected by federal law. After the release of that memo, Greyhound announced it would no longer allow immigration authorities onto their premises without a warrant even though the company previously took the position that they were powerless to stop the practice. 

Greyhound has now reached a settlement with Washington in which the company agreed to take the following steps: 

1. Pay $2.2 million into a settlement fund to provide restitution to those impacted by the warrantless searches and detentions; 

2. Greyhound will not allow immigration officials onto its buses or non-public property for the purpose of warrantless or suspicionless searches and detentions; 

3. Greyhound must not post or provide deceptive information about the government’s ability to conduct warrantless or suspicionless enforcement activity; 

4. Greyhound must implement a policy that clarifies that the company and its employees will not consent to allowing immigration officials to conduct a search without a judicially enforceable warrant; 

5. Greyhound must implement a procedure for maintaining records regarding all warrants and demands for access to their property;

6. Greyhound must provide clear notice on its buses operating in Washington stating that it does not consent to immigration agents boarding its buses or entering its property for the purpose of conducting warrantless or suspicionless searches. 

The Washington State Attorney General will create a claims procedure for people who were negatively impacted by warrantless searches. The Attorney General will also make reasonable efforts to locate individuals who may be entitled to a restitution payment from the settlement fund.