Hilton Caves, Punishes Hotel That Refused Service To ICE Agents In Minneapolis

Hilton moved to cut ties with an independently owned Minneapolis-area hotel after it barred immigration agents from staying there and then falsely claimed the policy had been reversed.

The global hotel chain said Tuesday it was removing the Hampton Inn by Hilton in Lakeville from its systems after Homeland Security shared an email showing the hotel had canceled reservations made by federal agents ahead of an immigration enforcement operation.

“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this,” Hilton said in a statement posted on X. “As such, we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems.”

The move followed a viral video by conservative influencer Nick Sortor, who visited the property and was told by a front desk clerk that reservations under DHS or ICE were still not allowed, despite the operator, Everpeak Hospitality, publicly claiming the issue had been resolved hours earlier.

“We’re not accepting people from immigration, ICE agents, DHS onto our property … it’s just policy,” the clerk told Sortor in the video, which racked up nearly 2 million views on X.

The controversy erupted as immigration authorities ramped up activity in the Twin Cities amid a sprawling human services fraud investigation tied to Somali-run day care centers. Federal officials said about 2,000 workers were deployed to the Minneapolis area Sunday, including as many as 1,500 ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officers and hundreds of Homeland Security Investigations agents.

But the Lakeville Hampton Inn made clear those agents were not welcome.

“We have noticed an influx of GOV reservations made today that have been for DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property,” read part of the email the hotel sent to agents. “If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation.”

After the cancellations, DHS blasted Hilton in a sharply worded post on X.

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

“Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation’s immigration laws?” the statement continued. Hilton initially sought to distance itself from the incident, stressing the hotel was independently owned.

“This hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton values,” a Hilton spokesperson said. “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’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”

Those assurances unraveled the next day when Sortor returned to the property and was again told DHS agents would not be allowed to stay.

“I just talked to the owner of the building, and he didn’t say they had any changes, it’s just policy,” the Hilton franchisee told Sortor in the video.

In its follow-up statement announcing the split, Hilton said it would also examine whether other franchisees were enforcing similar bans.

“Hilton is – and has always been – a welcoming place for all,” the company said. “We are also engaging with all of our franchisees to reinforce the standards we hold them to across our system to help ensure this does not happen again.”

RELATED: Top U.S. Hotel Chain Under Fire For Refusing ICE Agents’ Reservations