Feds punish Minnesota hotel that canceled ICE room reservations

The General Services Administration barred a Hampton Inn in Minnesota from the government’s travel and lodging programs this week after the hotel refused to let ICE personnel make reservations.

GSA said the hotel, in Lakeville, is no longer listed as an option for federal civilian or U.S. military employees traveling on government business.

The hotel canceled reservations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel last week, saying in a message that it was “not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property.”

GSA Administrator Edward C. Forst said that was a “clear violation” of the federal government’s lodging program, which lists only hotels that offer rooms at or below the government’s per diem rate and agree to honor reservations from any federal agency.

“The property has been removed from the programs and booking tools effective immediately. GSA unequivocally supports our federal law enforcement partners,” Mr. Forst said.

Hampton Inn is part of the Hilton hotel family, but the Lakeville location is an independently operated franchise.

The property issued a statement on Monday apologizing and saying it would rectify the situation.

Hilton Hotels, though, said it was terminating the franchise from its system.

Homeland Security had exposed the issue on social media, posting emails the department said came from the Hampton Inn and were sent to ICE personnel.

“Please pass on this info to your coworkers that we are not allowing any immigration agents to house on our property,” one message read.

Another said: “We have found information about immigration work connected with your name and we will be cancelling your upcoming reservation. You should see a proper cancellation email in your inbox shortly from Hilton.”

The Trump administration has surged immigration enforcement officers to the Minneapolis area after reports revealed that the Somali immigrant community there is at the center of several large fraud operations.