A United Airlines employee was captured on video at San Francisco International Airport threatening to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a Mexican-born U.S. citizen. The incident occurred Tuesday when passenger Julio Varela was attempting to resolve an issue with a flight ticket for his family.
In the video, the uniformed employee is heard telling Varela, "Maybe we should call ICE on you." When Varela asked her to repeat herself, she responded, "Maybe you need to be, because you don’t act like a citizen. Get away."
Varela, a naturalized U.S. citizen and business owner from San Ramon, California, stated that the exchange was racially motivated. He explained that the dispute arose from a ticketing error where his wife had mistakenly entered their daughter's middle name in the last-name field during booking. The family had reportedly spent approximately 15 hours on the phone with the airline over two weeks attempting to correct the error, without success.
As their travel date approached, the family spent an additional three hours at the airport attempting to resolve the issue. While Air Canada rebooked three family members, United's assistance was needed to update the daughter's ticket. Varela began filming when he perceived the United employee was dismissing their problem and refused to provide her name.
The footage shows Varela repeatedly asking for the employee's identification and calling her "lazy" and "rude." The employee, in turn, repeatedly told him to move away and to get his phone out of her face. The dispute escalated further when the employee stepped out from behind the counter and approached Varela, holding her phone.
Varela later recounted that the employee pushed his hand away, causing the recording to stop. He admitted on Reddit that he lost his temper and could have managed the situation differently, but maintained that he was calm until the employee made the ICE comment, which he said intensified the argument.
The employee's badge appeared to indicate she is a union steward with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The union issued a statement to KQED, acknowledging awareness of the circulating video but stating they had no verification of its authenticity or full context. The union added that the comments depicted in the video do not reflect the union's views or values and that any potential matters would be handled through established processes.
Despite the heated exchange, the Varela family was ultimately able to board their flight after another United employee intervened to assist them.
United Airlines provided a statement to the outlet, saying, "We are looking into the interaction in this video, but don’t have anything additional to share at this time."