Banging drums and shouting into megaphones to the blares of a trumpet, protesters broke the stillness of a sleepy morning in a North Arlington neighborhood today (Thursday).
The crowd of about 50 anti-ICE activists arrived at the home of Hilton President and CEO Christopher Nassetta around 7 a.m. They were protesting the hotel chain allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to stay at its properties in Minneapolis and elsewhere in the country.
“We know that ICE has terrorized families in the middle of the night,” organizer Will McBride told ARLnow. “They’re not able to get a good sleep, so we’ve decided to give the same experience to the hotel’s CEO.”
“No Sleep for ICE” protests have proliferated in Minnesota and other immigration enforcement hotspots in recent weeks, typically targeting hotels where ICE agents are staying and often running late into the night. Dozens of protesters were arrested in one such sit-in at a Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan last week.
Police were also present at this morning’s protest, instructing activists to keep a path open for any cars in the middle of the road.
Protesters stayed in the cul-de-sac for about 45 minutes, chanting and singing in between speeches about immigration enforcement. An organizer called the action to an end around 7:45 a.m.
“Alright, I feel like he’s awake. I feel like we’ve disturbed this neighborhood properly,” the organizer said.
For the past month, Hilton has been caught between criticisms from anti-ICE activists and from the Department of Homeland Security after a Minnesota hotel originally refused to let federal immigration agents stay there, but later apologized and said the refusal violated its own policies.
DHS has accused Hilton of a “coordinated” effort to refuse service to its employees, even as activists have called on the company to “stop housing ICE.”
Protesters have targeted the homes of powerful people who live in Arlington several times over the past year. The most high-profile examples took place at the North Arlington home of Stephen Miller, where protesters wrote chalk messages and distributed pamphlets against the White House deputy chief of staff for policy.
Other targets have included Russell Vought, director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and Loik Henderson, a member of the board of directors at the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
