The Trump administration has accused Hilton Hotels of orchestrating a coordinated campaign to deny rooms to immigration agents in Minneapolis. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that reservations made by officers using official government emails and rates were cancelled once their identities were revealed.
In a post on X, DHS described the cancellations as “UNACCEPTABLE” and shared redacted screenshots of emails. One message, dated January 2, stated: “After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected with your name and will be cancelling your upcoming reservation.” Another, purportedly from the leadership of the Hampton Inn Lakeville, read: “We are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property.”
Hilton responded by saying the hotel involved is independently owned and operated, and that the actions were not reflective of Hilton values. The company stated that the hotel had apologised and taken immediate action to resolve the matter. Everpeak Hospitality, which manages the property, also issued a statement apologising and confirming they are contacting impacted guests.
The allegations come as the Trump administration surges DHS resources to Minneapolis for a reported crackdown involving up to 2,000 agents. The president has previously criticised the city’s Somali-American community, and the administration has frozen childcare funding to Minnesota amid disputed fraud allegations.
This is not the first such incident; in 2020, Hilton corporate stated it does not support detaining immigrants after a Texas franchisee accepted reservations from an ICE contractor. In 2018, Motel 6 paid $7.6 million to settle a lawsuit over giving guest lists to ICE agents.
