Explore Business Standard
Dozens of protesters were arrested Tuesday after they occupied the lobby of a Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan, accusing the hotel of housing federal immigration officers. A person who answered the phone at the hotel declined to comment. An email to Hilton's press office was not returned Tuesday night. It was not immediately clear if immigration officers were staying at the hotel, and Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that information would not be disclosed. The protest came as President Donald Trump's administration has been carrying out a massive immigration operation that has spurred widespread opposition and led to two deaths in Minneapolis this month. Hotel chains such as Hilton have sometimes struggled to navigate the conflict during the immigration crackdown and responding protests. Protesters packed into the small lobby of the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday, wearing shirts that read "Hilton houses ICE" and calling for the .
The fatal shooting of a Minneapolis protester by a federal immigration officer touched off a fierce national debate and prompted some fellow Republicans to question President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration crackdown, but the president on Sunday night continued to blame Democratic officials. After remaining relatively quiet on Sunday, the Republican president in two lengthy social media posts said that Democrats had encouraged people to obstruct law enforcement operations. He also called on officials in Minnesota to work with immigration officers and "turn over" people who were in the US illegally. "Tragically, two American Citizens have lost their lives as a result of this Democrat ensued chaos," Trump wrote on his Truth Social media network. Trump's refusal to back away from his pledge to carry out the largest deportation program in history and the surge of immigration officers to heavily Democratic cities came as more Republicans began calling for a deeper investigation and