United Airlines is investigating a viral video that captured an employee threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a Mexican American passenger at San Francisco International Airport last week.
Incident sparked by ticketing error
The confrontation began when Julio Varela of San Ramon became frustrated after a three-hour wait to correct a mistake his family made while booking a ticket for his daughter's flight to Canada, according to NBC News. Varela pulled out his phone and demanded the employee's name to file a complaint.
In the widely circulated video, the United staffer responds by recording Varela on her own phone and says, "Maybe we should call ICE on you. You don't act like a citizen." Varela, a naturalized U.S. citizen, retorts, "Call ICE on me, lady." The exchange escalates as Varela repeatedly says, "Say it again," and the employee replies, "Get out my face." Varela then yells, "United Airlines has a racist customer service lady! She's lazy as hell!" Another staff member is seen sighing and rolling her eyes.
Airline response and passenger concerns
United Airlines issued a statement saying, "We're looking into the interaction in this video, but don't have anything additional to share at this time." Varela expressed concern about potential detention by ICE upon his return from Montreal, despite being a U.S. citizen. However, NBC News reported that no incident occurred when he returned.
