The Department of Homeland Security on Monday said a Hilton hotel canceled reservations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minnesota, where the Trump administration has deployed officers after allegations of fraud against Somali immigrants.
After ICE officers booked rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton canceled their reservations, the department said in a post on X.
The department also posted screenshots of emails, in which the hotel’s operators said they had “noticed an influx of GOV reservations made today that have been for DHS”, and that they were not allowing any ICE agents to stay at the property.
In a statement, a Hilton spokesperson said the brand’s hotels “serve as welcoming places for all” and that the hotel that canceled the reservations was independently owned and operated. The cancellations “are not reflective of Hilton values”, the spokesperson said.
“We are investigating this matter with this individual hotel, and can confirm that Hilton works with governments, law enforcement and community leaders around the world to ensure our properties are open and inviting to everyone,” the spokesperson said.
Google reviews for what is believed to be the hotel location in question, in an outer suburb of Minneapolis, lit up on Monday afternoon with a mix of one- and five-star reviews, some calling the hotel “un-American” and others praising it for not hosting ICE.
Protesters have rallied outside hotels in Minnesota and other places around the country where ICE agents are staying, making noise late into the night to disrupt their sleep and calling on hotels not to allow agents to stay on their properties.
Federal officials in recent weeks have portrayed Minnesota’s Somali community as a hotspot for fraud involving millions of federal dollars intended for social services. Immigrant-rights advocates have accused the administration of using the fraud investigations as an excuse to target Somali immigrants more broadly.
Shares of the hotel chain were down 1.5% in afternoon trading.
