OAN Staff Cory Hawkins and Brooke Mallory
1:37 PM – Tuesday, January 6, 2026
Hilton has terminated its franchise agreement with the independently owned Hampton Inn in Lakeville, Minnesota, after the hotel refused to house federal immigration agents. The property has been removed from Hilton’s systems and is no longer permitted to operate under the brand name.
Hilton investigated and initially received assurances from the franchise owner that the issue was resolved, along with a public apology. However, after a video surfaced showing the hotel was still denying bookings to such agents, Hilton determined this violated company policies on non-discrimination and welcoming all guests.
As a result, on Tuesday, Hilton announced that it was terminating the franchise agreement and removing the hotel from its systems, meaning it can no longer use the Hampton Inn or Hilton name.
On Monday, Trump administration officials and conservatives denounced the hotel chain after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted an email from the Lakeville Hampton Inn on social media. In the email, the hotel notified the agency that it was canceling reservations previously made for immigration enforcement agents ahead of a deployment.
“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this,” read a statement from Hilton posted on X Tuesday morning. However, “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 statement referenced footage recorded by conservative journalist Nick Sortor, in which a hotel employee informed him of a policy barring DHS and ICE agents from the premises.
“Hilton’s operator, Everpeak, STRAIGHT UP LIED in their statement yesterday which said they were ‘in touch’ with DHS to accommodate impacted agents, and ‘do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies,’” he noted in the post. “NONE of that was true. There was NO attempt to reach DHS agents to make it right, per Asst. DHS Sec. @TriciaOhio.”
“Even the FRONT DESK manager said he had spoken with the owner shortly before I walked in around 10:50pm, and confirmed the ANTI-DHS POLICY REMAINED IN EFFECT,” Sortor added.
“We’re not accepting people from immigration, ICE agents, DHS onto our property … it’s just policy,” the clerk told Sortor in the video posted to X.
More than 2,000 federal workers, including up to 1,500 ICE Enforcement Officers and hundreds of DHS Investigators, have been deployed to Minneapolis in light of the hundred-million-dollar childcare fraud scandal involving Somali-run day care centers.
Before the property was removed from Hilton’s systems, the Lakeville Hampton Inn had signaled its political bias in an email stating that federal immigration agents were not welcome.
“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. 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 note says.
After receiving the email, the DHS put Hilton Hotels on blast with a fiery statement on X.
“When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations. This is UNACCEPTABLE,” DHS said in the statement. “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?”
In Hilton’s follow-up statement, the company announced that it would shut down any franchisees who support anti-ICE policies.
“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.”
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