Hilton Hotels has promptly ended its franchise relationship with a Hampton Inn located in Minnesota following the release of a video that depicted the hotel denying accommodations to agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This action contradicts the chain’s commitment to being an inclusive environment for everyone.
The incident came to light on Monday afternoon when DHS made public email exchanges from the Hampton Inn in Lakeville. These emails revealed that hotel management or staff had conducted background checks on at least one law enforcement officer attempting to book a room. Upon learning of the officer’s involvement in “immigration work,” the hotel canceled the reservation.
One of the emails stated, “We have noticed an increase in government reservations today linked to DHS, and we are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property. If you are with DHS or immigration, please inform us, as we will have to cancel your reservation.”
This prompted a strong reaction from DHS, which expressed frustration in a post on X, questioning Hilton Hotels’ motives: “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?”
READ MORE: (Updated) Hilton Responds After DHS Claims Hotels Refused Their Reservations
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This is… pic.twitter.com/qKMKypGtzi
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 5, 2026
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RedState Editor Bob Hoge reported that the hotel conglomerate issued a statement shortly thereafter, indicating that the location in question is “independently owned and operated” and they would be investigating since Hilton properties “serve as welcoming places for all.”
They couldn’t have run away from the controversy any faster if they’d wanted to. But, as you might imagine these days, people weren’t content with Hilton simply saying they were going to do something about it. Influencer Nick Sortor, armed with a video recording device, visited the Lakeville Hampton Inn and quickly learned that the owner and front desk manager, at least, weren’t about to change their unwelcoming stance.
In the video posted on X, Sortor asks about available rooms and is met with resistance when he says they are for DHS.
“We’re not accepting people from immigration, ICE agents, DHS, onto our property,” the clerk says. “It’s just per management, our ownership.”
Sortor points to Hilton’s statement, but the front desk manager indicates he had just spoken with the owner, who informed him there was no change to the selective policy.
🚨 BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: I went into the Minnesota Hilton who “apologized” for banning DHS agents, and EXPOSED them for CONTINUING to ban DHS agents@HiltonHotels has decided they want the FULL BUDLIGHT treatment at this point.
Hilton’s operator, Everpeak, STRAIGHT UP LIED in… pic.twitter.com/3g97P7okpz
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 6, 2026
Less than two hours after the video had been uploaded to X, Hilton issued another statement saying they were dropping that particular hotel from their list of franchisees and accusing ownership of lying to them about making corrections to their policy.
“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,” the statement reads. “As such, we are taking immediate action to remove this hotel from our systems.”
“Hilton is – and has always been – a welcoming place for all. 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.”
Statement from Hilton on a recent video pic.twitter.com/W8DWUTWD7f
— Hilton Newsroom (@HiltonNewsroom) January 6, 2026
As of now, the Hampton Inn in Lakeville appears in search results on Hilton’s site when making reservations, but clicking the details page opens a new window that quickly disappears. Clicking the same link for other hotels opens a new booking window.
It appears Hilton is trying to stave off the Bud Light treatment. Have they done enough in this situation, and did they act quickly enough? That remains to be seen.
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