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?"
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, "This hotel is independently owned and operated, and these actions were not reflective of Hilton values."
"We have been in direct contact with the hotel, and they have apologized for the actions of their team, which was not in keeping with their policies. They have taken immediate action to resolve this matter and are contacting impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated. Hilton's position is clear: Our properties are open to everyone and we do not tolerate any form of discrimination," the statement read.
Most of the more than 9,000 properties affiliated with Hilton and its brands are operated by franchisees.
Everpeak Hospitality, the company that operates the Hilton-branded hotel in question, also released a statement.
"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 said. "We are in touch with the impacted guests to ensure they are accommodated. We do not discriminate against any individuals or agencies and apologize to those impacted. We are committed to welcoming all guests and operating in accordance with brand standards, applicable laws, and our role as a professional hospitality provider."
CNBC has reached out to DHS for comment.
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.
