Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, June 12, 2025.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
The Department of Homeland Security on Monday blasted Hilton Hotels, saying that DHS officers had a reservation abruptly canceled by a Minneapolis hotel because of their work on immigration enforcement.
The price of Hilton shares dipped by around 2% after the criticism by DHS in a social media post.
“NO ROOM AT THE INN!,” DHS said on its X social media account.
“HiltonHotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement,” the tweet said.
“When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations,” DHS said. “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?”
Immigrations, Customs, and Enforcement officers question a man’s status on Lake Street near a Somali mall called the Karmel Mall in Minnesota, United States on December 10, 2025.
Christopher Juhn | Anadolu | Getty Images
The tweet included a screengrab of two apparent emails from a Hilton.com address, with the subject line: “Upcoming reservation.”
The email said, “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 message said. “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,” the email said.
The subsequent email said: “After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected with your name and we will be cancelling your upcoming reservation.”
The location of the Hilton property that DHS said had canceled the reservation was not revealed by the department.
Hilton, in a statement from a spokesperson, said, “Hilton hotels serve as welcoming places for all. This hotel is independently owned and operated, and the actions referenced are not reflective of Hilton values.”
“We are investigating this matter with this individual hotel, and can confirm that Hilton works with governments, law enforcement and community leaders around the world to ensure our properties are open and inviting to everyone,” the spokesperson said.
CNBC has reached out to DHS for comment.
Most of the more than 9,000 properties affiliated with Hilton and its brands are operated by franchisees.
In September 2020, during the first Trump administration, Hilton issued a statement saying that it opposed the use of its hotels for the purpose of detaining migrants, including minors. That statement came two months after Hilton said it had confirmed reports that an independently owned and operated Hampton Inn & Suites in McAllen, Texas, had accepted reservations from a private contractor working on behalf of U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement to house migrants, including minors.
“This is not activity that we support or in any way want associated with our hotels,” Hilton said in July 2020. “Our policy has always been that hotels should not be used as detention centers or for detaining individuals. We expect all Hilton properties to reject business that would use a hotel in this way.”
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, in a tweet on Dec. 29, said, “Homeland Security Investigations @ICEGov are on the ground in Minneapolis right now conducting a massive investigation on childcare and other rampant fraud. More coming.”
A federal prosecutor in Minnesota last month said that about $9 billion or more that has been paid through more than a dozen Medicaid programs in the state since 2018 may have been fraudulently obtained.
CBS News reported Monday that “The Trump administration has begun a massive deployment of hundreds of Department of Homeland Security agents to the Twin Cities area as it escalates its federal crackdown amid a widening fraud scandal in Minnesota.”
“The crackdown could involve roughly 2,000 agents and officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s deportation branch and Homeland Security Investigations,” CBS reported.
— CNBC’s Jim Forkin contributed to this article.
