The Hilton Hotels franchisee in Somali-controlled Minneapolis that rejected reservations from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has apologized, as has the Hilton Hotels chain.
Hilton and Everpeak Hospitality say cancellation emails sent to DHS employees were unauthorized and do not reflect the policy of either company.
DHS posted the emails on X only hours ago. Hilton and Everpeak quickly responded.
Rooms Canceled
Just after noon today, DHS reported that a Hilton hotel had canceled reservations for agents.
“NO ROOM AT THE INN,” DHS reported:
@HiltonHotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement.
When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations.
This is UNACCEPTABLE. 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?
DHS zinged the once-respected hotel chain twice.
“Hey @HiltonHotels — why did your team in Minneapolis cancel our federal law enforcement officer and agents’ reservations?” DHS asked.
The emails sounded the alarm that government agents had reserved rooms and would be there. News accounts reported that the emails came from the Hampton Inn in Lakeville.
“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,” the first email began:
If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know, as we will have to cancel your reservation. Please pass on this info to your coworkers that we are not allowing any immigration agents to house on our property.
Reply at your earliest convenience.
Another email followed:
After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected with your names and we will be canceling your upcoming reservation. You should see a proper cancellation email in your inbox shortly from Hilton.
Concerned about the black eye and what might have become a nationwide boycott against the chain, Hilton responded a few hours later.
“This hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton values,” the Hilton Newsroom X feed 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. Hilton’s position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.
The hotel’s owner, 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 news release:
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. We are committed to welcoming all guests and operating in accordance with brand standards, applicable laws, and our role as a professional hospitality provider.
The question is whether Everpeak fired the employee who wrote the email, whom DHS did not identify.
DHS Surge Into Minneapolis
The employee clearly wrote the email as DHS personnel were reserving rooms to surge agents into the city after revelations about massive Somali day care fraud.
“Our agents are conducting a massive operation to identify, arrest, and remove criminals who are defrauding the American people at daycares, healthcare facilities, and other suspected sites,” the agency reported on December 29, three days after independent journalist Nick Shirley found multiple Somali daycare centers not caring for any children.
“We will not stop until we’ve rooted out this rampant fraud plaguing Minnesota,” DHS continued.
The reckless employee wrote the email in the same haste that Politico legal affairs writer Josh Gerstein suggested that Shirley’s “knocking on doors” to investigate day care fraud might get him shot.
Shirley, he wrote, might “intersect” with a stand-your-ground law, although Minnesota is not a stand-your-ground state. It is a duty-to-retreat and Castle Doctrine state.
But Immigration and Customs Enforcement worried that Gerstein’s post might encourage someone to open fire on immigration agents.
“You would think a ‘Senior Legal Affairs Reporter’ for POLITICO would know better than to tweet something inciting violence against federal agents,” ICE wrote on X.
Gerstein weakly replied to critics that he wasn’t advocating violence against ICE, but rather only observing what might happen.
A former U.S. attorney noted that Gerstein, who is not a lawyer — but spends “more time in courtrooms and more time reading legal pleadings than many members of the bar,” his biography claims — does not understand stand-your-ground laws.
“Knocking on doors” is not threatening and does not justify shooting someone. A stand-your-ground defense in that situation would fail.
Hilton in 2020: No Detained Migrants
As for Hilton, during President Donald Trump’s first term, the company said that it would not permit his administration to detain “migrants” at its hotels.
“This is not activity that we support or in any way want associated with our hotels,” the company said of reservations made at the Hampton Inn in McAllen, Texas.
The hotel canceled the reservations and refused to accept them in the future.
