Hilton is cutting ties with a Minneapolis-area Hampton Inn after a viral video showed a front desk worker refusing to check in people claiming to be federal homeland security agents. The move caps a tense 48 hours that pulled a single suburban hotel into the national spotlight as tensions over immigration policy continue to escalate.

The controversy started when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) accused a Hilton-branded hotel of canceling room reservations because guests worked in immigration enforcement. This week, an estimated 2,000 ICE agents have been sent to the city amid reports of immigration fraud.

DHS blasted the hotel chain online, writing “NO ROOM AT THE INN!” and accusing Hilton of a “coordinated effort” in Minneapolis to deny service to its officers.

The agency shared emails from the hotel saying it had seen a spike in government bookings and was “not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property,” warning that reservations would be canceled if guests were tied to immigration work.

Hilton quickly stressed that the Hampton Inn property was independently owned and the emails did not reflect its values. 

“The independent hotel owner had assured us that they had fixed this problem and published a message confirming this,” Hilton said on X.

“Hilton is — and has always been — a welcoming place for all,” the statement said. “We are also engaging with our all of our franchisees to reinforce the standards we hold them to across our system to help ensure this does not happen again.”

However, the pushback didn’t end there.

Soon after, a man claiming to be an independent journalist filmed a late-night attempt to book 10 rooms at the same Hampton Inn, saying they were for DHS staff; the clerk responded that management was not accepting immigration or DHS guests, and the clip rocketed across social media.

“I went into the Minnesota Hilton who ‘apologized’ for banning DHS agents, and EXPOSED them for CONTINUING to ban DHS agents,” he wrote. The all-caps tirade continued, “REVOKE THEIR LICENSE, HILTON, OR IT’S GOING TO COST YOU DEARLY. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED. This is an INCREDIBLY dumb battle to choose!”

Within hours, Hilton said a new video raised “significant concerns” about whether the franchise was living up to its standards and announced it would remove the hotel from its system. The company said it is reminding franchise owners across its 9,000-plus properties that discrimination is not allowed and that its doors are meant to be open to everyone.