Category: Hilton hotel ice controversy
Hilton Hotels cuts loose hotel location accused of refusing to host ICE agents
A wave of online outrage has led Hilton Hotels to cut off an independently owned hotel location in Minnesota that was refusing to allow federal immigration agents to book rooms.
The Department of Homeland Security called out the famous hotel chain in a social media post on Monday, claiming that federal agents were denied service at the Hampton Inn by Hilton in the Minneapolis suburb of Lakeville.
‘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 Hotels] has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement,” the agency said in a statement. “When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations. This is UNACCEPTABLE.”
Hilton was immediately lambasted by many who threatened to cancel their reservations over the alleged incident.
Very soon afterward, an investigation from the company led to an initial apology from the offending hotel.
“Everpeak Hospitality has moved swiftly to address this matter as it was inconsistent with our policy of being a welcoming place for all,” the statement reads. “We are in touch with the impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated.”
The controversy dragged on into Tuesday, however, when evidence on social media showed that the hotel location continued refusing service to ICE.
Hilton responded with a definitive action against the Lakeville hotel.
“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this,” reads a statement on social media.
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“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,” the company said. “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.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem previously said the agency was sending an influx of agents to investigate fraud schemes in Minneapolis. Critics of the action have said the administration’s rhetoric has led to hate speech against people in the Somali community who had nothing to do with the scams.
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