Jan 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that a Hilton hotel canceled a reservation for a Minneapolis Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. The Trump administration has deployed additional police forces to the region following accusations of immigration fraud in Somalia.
The Department of Homeland Security posted on social media platform X that Hilton canceled the reservation after ICE officials used an official government email and price to reserve the room.
The department also released screenshots of emails in which hoteliers said they were “noting an influx of government reservations for the Department of Homeland Security today” and that they were not allowing any ICE agents to stay at the hotel.
Hilton Worldwide Holdings said the hotel is independently owned and operated and is investigating the matter.
“Hilton works with governments, law enforcement and community leaders around the world to ensure our hotels are open and inviting to everyone,” a Hilton spokesperson said in a statement.
In recent weeks, federal officials have described Minnesota’s Somali community as a hotspot for fraud involving millions in federal funds spent on social services. Immigrant rights advocates have accused the government of using the fraud investigation as a pretext to target Somali immigrants more broadly.
Shares of the hotel chain fell 1.5% in afternoon trading.
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru and Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Leroy Leo and Cynthia Osterman)
