Hilton drops Minnesota hotel that banned ICE agents from staying in its rooms

Hilton issued an apology, saying the hotel would be removed from the company’s systems

A Minnesota hotel, which denied rooms to federal immigration agents, has been dropped by Hilton.

The Hampton Inn Lakeville, an independent franchise operating under the Hilton brand, made national headlines after denying rooms to Department of Homeland Security staff last week once their identities were revealed.

Hilton apologized Monday, claiming the action went against company policies.

“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this. A recent video clearly raises concerns that they are not meeting our standards and values. As such, we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems,” Hilton wrote in a statement on X.

“Hilton is — and has always been — a welcoming place for all.”

The Hampton Inn Lakeville in Minnesota made national headlines after denying rooms to Department of Homeland Security staff last week (Google)

A video, reportedly shot late Monday night by conservative social media personality Nick Sortor, showed a person behind the hotel’s check-in desk denying rooms to a man claiming he was looking to book rooms for DHS agents.

Trump officials on Monday claimed Hilton had launched a “coordinated campaign” to refuse service to DHS employees.

“When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations,” DHS wrote on X. “This is UNACCEPTABLE.”

DHS then appeared to reference the Biblical story of Mary and Joseph being denied “room at the inn” ahead of the birth of Jesus and shared two screenshots, reportedly from Hampton Inn Lakeville, about the alleged cancellations in Minnesota.

“After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected with your name and will be cancelling your upcoming reservation,” one of the screenshots, dated January 2, read.

“We are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property,” another message, purportedly from the leadership of the Hampton Inn Lakeville, reads.

Hilton told The Independent in a statement Monday that the hotel was independently owned and operated, and the actions did not reflect the company’s values.

“We have been in direct contact with the hotel, and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies. They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter and are contacting impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated,” Hilton said.

However, the video, shared on X Tuesday, claims to show the front desk operator at the Hampton Inn Lakeville, 20 miles south of Minneapolis, saying the policy forbidding DHS employees from booking rooms remained in effect.

The Department of Homeland Security alleges Hilton Hotels is part of a “coordinated campaign” to deny immigration agents hotel rooms in the Minneapolis area (REUTERS)

After the video was posted Tuesday morning, Hilton issued another statement, saying that the company was working with franchisees to “reinforce the standards we hold them to across our system to help ensure this does not happen again.”

Hampton Inns are on the budget end of the Hilton hotel brands. Most are owned and operated by franchisees.

Everpeak Hospitality, which operates the Lakeville Hampton Inn location, also issued a statement Monday to say that the cancellation was at odds with their policy.

“Everpeak Hospitality has moved swiftly to address this matter as it was inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all,” the company said in a statement. “We are in touch with the impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated. We do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies and apologize to those impacted.”

The Trump administration is sending an influx of DHS resources to the Minneapolis era, kicking off a reported crackdown on migrants that could involve up to 2,000 agents.

President Donald Trump and his allies have regularly targeted the large Somali-American community in the city. The administration has also responded to viral, disputed allegations of mass fraud at Somali-American run day care centers in Minneapolis to freeze childcare funding to Minnesota.