This story was originally published by MPR News.
Melissa Olson
MPR News
Two St. Paul hotels — The DoubleTree St. Paul Downtown and the Intercontinental St. Paul Riverfront — temporarily shuttered on Sunday.
Both properties are owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, a tribal nation in central Minnesota and is a part of the band’s portfolio of businesses, which includes Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Hinkley.
The Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures Board of Directors says they made the decision to “temporarily suspend” operations at the hotels “in response to elevated safety and security concerns.”
On Sunday morning, Jan. 18, guests at the downtown hotels received letters saying their reservations were cancelled.
“Due to heightened safety concerns in St. Paul, we have made the difficult decision to temporarily close our hotel, and your reservation will be cancelled effective Sunday, January 18th at 12 p.m.,” the letter read.
Combined, the two hotels account for more than 600 rooms.
St. Paul MayorKaohly Her said in a statement to MPR News that her office has been in contact with Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures, “to determine what support the city can provide.”
Added Her, “We support whatever steps they take to protect their workforce during this temporary closure.”
UNITE Here Local 17, the union that represents hospitality workers at both hotels, has not responded to a request for comment on the closures.
For more than a week, some members of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe have posted questions to social media about whether federal law enforcement, including ICE agents, were staying at the band’s hotels.
Virgil Wind, the Mille Lacs Band chief executive, posted a cell phone video last Monday on his personal social media page that said it was possible ICE agents were staying at the hotels.
“The answer is that we very well could be,” Wind said in the video.
Mille Lacs band tribal members protested outside the tribe’s government buildings on Friday. Tribal member Daphne Shabaiash was among those present at that protest.
“It wasn’t OK that we were doing it for financial gain,” Shabaiash said. “It was like a moral duty for me to speak on the issue. I felt like other people were kind of being hushed. I wasn’t willing to be hushed because it had affected me personally with family members of mine in the cities.”
Shabaiash, who describes herself as a person of “Native American and Mexican decent,” said members of her family who live in St. Paul have been negatively affected by ICE operations.
She praised the tribe’s decision to close the hotels.
“Housing those agents caused real harm and frustration within our communities, and many tribal and community members had to speak up forcefully to be heard.” Shabaiash said.
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures and the Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe refused interview requests.
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