An employee of a valet parking service was fired after recording and sharing on social media the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at the Hilton Anatole hotel in Dallas, confirmed the company and the employee herself.

The young woman, identified only as Gia, The 20-year-old recorded the video after observing vehicles she said belonged to ICE on the hotel property. In the recording, posted on TikTok, she stated that she was concerned about the impact of immigration raids on families. At the end of her shift, a manager asked her to delete the video, according to Gia's statements to The Dallas Morning News. Upon refusing, she was informed that she had violated the social media policy and was fired by Towne Park, the external company in charge of the parking service. In a statement, Towne Park indicated that the employee “violated our company conduct policy and is no longer employed by our company.” The Hilton Anatole, located in Dallas’s Design District, stated that it held discussions with the contracting company after learning of the video and reiterated that its hotels “are public lodging spaces.” Young woman alerted on TikTok about ICE presence at hotel. The videos posted by Gia have accumulated tens of thousands of views and have been shared on various platforms. While some users criticized her dismissal and called for boycotts against the hotel chain, the young woman stated that she has also received threats on social media. Gia, a university nursing student, explained that she decided to record because she believed innocent people could be detained and families could be separated. The video shows unmarked vehicles, though it does not show the agents. The incident comes days after a Hampton Inn hotel in Minnesota refused lodging to federal immigration agents. In that case, the Department of Homeland Security accused Hilton of interfering with immigration enforcement.The company rejected the accusation, stating that the hotel operated independently, albeit under its brand.

Tensions over ICE operations

Tensions surrounding ICE operations have increased in recent months, in the context of the mass deportation program implemented by the Trump administration. On Wednesday, an ICE agent killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis, an incident whose official version has been questioned by local authorities.

In September, a gunman attacked an ICE office in Dallas, killing two detainees before committing suicide, in another incident that underscored the climate of tension surrounding immigration policy.