CHICAGO- United Airlines (UA) is facing public scrutiny after one of its employees threatened to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a Mexican American passenger during a ticketing dispute at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). A video of the encounter has spread widely online and prompted the airline to open a review.
The passenger, Julio Varela, is a naturalized U.S. citizen who was traveling with his wife and two daughters to Montreal (YUL) on a United ticket operated by Air Canada (AC). What began as a booking correction turned into a heated confrontation captured on camera.
United Employee Threatens Passenger
The dispute started with a name error on the ticket of Varela’s daughter. His wife had accidentally entered the girl’s middle name in the last-name field while booking the United reservation.
According to Varela, the family spent roughly 15 hours on the phone with both airlines before the trip but still arrived at SFO with the problem unresolved.
At the airport, the family spent nearly three more hours being sent between the United and Air Canada counters.
Air Canada was reportedly able to rebook three of the four family members. It still needed United to change the daughter’s ticket status from “exchanged” to “open” before completing her reservation.
The Passenger Insulted The Agent, Then She Invoked ICE
Varela says the United employee acted dismissively and indicated she did not care whether the family traveled that day. He then called her “lazy” and “rude” and repeatedly demanded her name while recording her.
In the video, the employee refuses to give her name, tells Varela to move away, and begins recording him with her own phone. After returning from a back room, she can be heard saying:
“Maybe we should call ICE on you.”
When Varela asks her to repeat herself, she responds:
“Maybe you need to be, because you don’t act like a citizen. Get away.”
Varela then becomes visibly angry, challenges her to call ICE, accuses her of racism, and warns that she will lose her job. Toward the end of the clip, the employee walks out from behind the counter and reaches toward his phone, and the recording stops.
Varela says his 14-year-old daughter was standing nearby and crying. Another United employee eventually stepped in and helped the family make the flight.
United And Union Issue Brief Statements
United has so far offered only a short response:
“We’re looking into the interaction in this video, but don’t have anything additional to share at this time.”
The employee is a United gate agent represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). She was wearing an “IAM Steward” badge, which suggests she holds a union leadership role.
The IAM said it was aware of the circulating video but could not verify its authenticity or full context. The union stated that the comments in the video do not reflect its views or values, and that any matters arising from the incident would be handled through the processes set out in the collective bargaining agreement.
No Immigration Issue Was Involved
Varela was a ticketed passenger trying to resolve a reservation problem, and his citizenship had no bearing on the transaction.
The employee’s suggestion that he did not “act like a citizen” was unrelated to the service dispute at hand. Varela has acknowledged that he lost his temper and could have handled parts of the encounter differently.
Was The United Employee Suspended?
Reports circulating online claim the employee was suspended pending an investigation.
Varela told KQED that he learned of a possible suspension through a personal connection at United, and a Reddit user claiming to work at SFO made a similar assertion.
However, United has not confirmed her suspension or disclosed her current employment status. As of now, the only confirmed position from the airline is that it is investigating the interaction, so any claim that she has been suspended, fired, or disciplined remains unverified.
Bottom Line
The passenger escalated the confrontation by insulting the employee, raising his voice, and repeatedly pressing for her name.
The United employee crossed a more serious line by threatening to call ICE on a Mexican American customer and telling him he did not act like a citizen. The airline’s investigation will determine what, if any, action follows.
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