Federal law enforcement officers found themselves abruptly turned out of St.
Paul, Minnesota, hotels over the weekend as management cited heightened public safety concerns tied to unrest spilling over from nearby Minneapolis.
According to Western Journal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel who had booked rooms at downtown properties in St. Paul were informed at the last minute that their reservations were being canceled and the hotels would be shutting their doors.
The timing coincided with escalating mob violence in the Twin Cities area, raising serious questions about whether corporate risk-avoidance and political pressure are now taking precedence over basic support for federal officers tasked with restoring order.
Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin reported that ICE agents staying at the St. Paul Downtown DoubleTree by Hilton were among those suddenly displaced. Im told multiple ICE agents with rooms booked at the St. Paul Downtown Doubletree by Hilton received this notice today that their rooms are being cancelled & the hotel will temporarily close due to heightened public safety concerns in St. Paul, Melugin wrote on X.
Melugin said he personally verified that the hotel had stopped accepting reservations. I called the hotel & checked online & they are indeed not taking any bookings right now. They referred me to other hotels. Im told this also happened today at the Intercontinental St. Paul, with ICE agents with bookings there notified the hotel will be temporarily closing today due to the ongoing unrest in Minnesota.
He added that at least one agent was told the closures were directly linked to the presence of federal personnel. An agent who talked to the front desk manager there says he was told it was done to protect staff because they have been getting threats from unknown individuals for lodging DHS agents, he posted.
Independent journalist Ali Bradley corroborated that federal employees were treated differently from other guests. Sources tell me government employees had to leave by noon today, but other guests were allowed to stay through their reservation, she wrote Sunday on X.
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, which operates both the InterContinental St. Paul Riverfront and the DoubleTree St. Paul Downtown, later issued a carefully worded statement that appeared to contradict those on-the-ground accounts. We have made the decision to temporarily suspend operations at two of our St. Paul hotels Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront and Doubletree St. Paul Downtown in response to elevated safety and security concerns. This temporary suspension is for all guests with reservations and began at noon Sunday, January 18, 2026, today, according to a report from KMSP-TV.
The company insisted that it was working to relocate affected guests. We apologize for this inconvenience and are contacting guests to offer accommodations to other properties at no charge while these hotels are temporarily closed. The safety and security of all of our guests and employees is always our top priority, the statement said.
This is not the first time in recent weeks that hotel operators in the MinneapolisSt. Paul region have been accused of singling out federal immigration authorities. Earlier this month, a Hilton-branded property in Lakeville, Minnesota, allegedly circulated an email announcing that reservations for ICE and other Department of Homeland Security officials would be canceled.
The message, apparently sent from the Hampton Inn by Hilton in Lakeville, explicitly stated that immigration enforcement personnel 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, an email from the Hampton Inns FOM, or front office manager, said.
The manager went further, urging that the policy be widely shared among federal staff. Please pass on this info to your coworkers that we are not allowing any immigration agents to stay at our property, the manager added.
A subsequent email made clear that the hotel had actively researched at least one guest and was canceling based on that persons work enforcing federal law. After further investigation online, 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.
Following public exposure of the Lakeville incident, the federal General Services Administration removed that Hampton Inn from the list of approved properties where government employees may stay at the negotiated government rate.
The St. Paul expulsions now deepen concerns that, in a climate of left-wing agitation against immigration enforcement and public safety, some corporations are more willing to appease anonymous threats and activist pressure than to provide basic, neutral services to the very agents trying to restore law and order.
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