The debate over a business’s right to refuse has been reignited as ICE agents face resistance from owners.
Clashes between federal agents and leftist protesters have resulted in heightened tensions, and some Americans are doing what they can to fight back against Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. This includes refusing them service in places like corporate gas stations and hotels, which has resulted in people questioning whether such businesses have the right to refuse service to federal law enforcement. Are they covered by private discretion, or would such a denial potentially fall afoul of the law as discrimination?
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino was recently escorted out of a Speedway gas station by a man self-identifying as a manager. The entire incident was caught on video by conservative activist Cam Higby, who questioned Bovino about the tense encounter. He opted to remain silent on the matter, but Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin revealed that this is not the first time that a gas station has turned away agents, many of whom are being followed by leftist agitators.
Higby also confronted the reported manager about why he refused service to Bovino.
“Because I wanted to. I don’t support ICE and nobody here does,” the guy responded. He didn’t have anything to say when asked whether he thought it was illegal to deny service to federal agents based on their job, but an employee in the background piped up to say, “If it is [illegal], I personally don’t care.”
Fox News Digital attempted to reach out to 7-Eleven, the parent company of Speedway, but no official statement was offered at the time.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney for North Florida Zack Smith spoke to the outlet to weigh in on the history and implications of refusing service to law enforcement.
“It’s shameful conduct to try to penalize men and women who are going out, day in and day out, seeking to enforce federal… law, seeking to penalize them and refusing to provide them services,” he said. “We’ve seen this in the past, particularly when a lot of emotions were high in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, in other places where individuals were refusing service to law enforcement.”
While it’s clear that private businesses do have the legal right to choose who they serve, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re always in the right.
“I think that’s shameful conduct and, at the end of the day, it ultimately has harmed many of those businesses. Now, in terms of whether businesses have the right to turn away law enforcement officers, just because they may have the right to do it doesn’t make it the right thing morally to do.”
The only recourse, Smith suggests, would be a boycott.
“I suspect part of that is the reason, you mentioned earlier, that Hilton was revoking the franchise of some hotels that refuse to honor reservations for federal law enforcement [is] they understand that many consumers are not going to approve or like it when businesses are refusing service to individuals simply because they are members of law enforcement,” he said.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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