SFO United Airlines Employee Allegedly Threatens to Call ICE on US Citizen
A Bay Area resident accused a United Airlines employee of threatening to call federal immigration authorities after a confrontation at the airline’s counter at San Francisco International Airport on Tuesday, prompting an internal probe by the airline.
The incident was captured on video by the passenger, San Ramon business owner Julio Varela, and widely circulated on Reddit. In the footage, a person who appears to be a United employee is seen recording Varela with a cellphone before stating: “Maybe we should call ICE on you. You’re not acting like a citizen.”
Varela, a Mexican American and naturalized United States citizen, was traveling to Montreal with his wife and two daughters. KQED has reviewed Varela’s ticket and videos of the encounter and was able to confirm he was at the airport at that time. He told KQED the employee’s conduct was discriminatory and unprovoked.
“I am Mexican. I was born in Mexico, I am a U.S. citizen. I own my own business. I pay taxes. I employ people,” Varela said on Friday. “For her, especially with what’s going on right now in America … to say that to a minority, especially a Hispanic person, I think it’s really, really hateful and it’s really racist.”
United Airlines declined to answer specific questions regarding the employee’s conduct or employment status.
“We’re looking into the interaction in this video, but don’t have anything additional to share at this time,” a United media relations spokesperson told KQED.
Varela said he, his wife and two of their daughters arrived at SFO around 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday for an 11:40 a.m. flight to Montreal, Canada, where his wife was attending a work conference.
Weeks prior, he said, his wife had accidentally entered their daughter’s middle name in the last name field when booking through United for a flight operated by Air Canada. Varela said they spent roughly 15 hours on the phone in the two weeks leading up to the trip trying to fix the error, and were bounced repeatedly between the two airlines’ customer service lines.
At the airport, the family spent nearly three hours walking back and forth between the United and Air Canada counters, he said. According to Varela, Air Canada agents were trying to help, but needed United to release the ticket in their system. Four minutes before the family was supposed to board, he said, an Air Canada supervisor walked over to the United counter to plead the family’s case.
Varela said the United employee he spoke with was dismissive, allegedly telling the Air Canada supervisor that she didn’t care if the family missed their flight.
“She said, ‘I’m not dealing with it, it ain’t my problem,’” Varela said. “That is when I was like, man, you’re so lazy, so rude. And she was like, ‘Why are you calling me this?’ I go, ‘Yeah, what’s your name?’ That’s when I pulled out my phone.”
In the footage, the United employee — wearing a badge identifying her as an International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union steward — refused to give her name and began recording Varela with her own phone.
When she reemerges from a back room, Varela again asks for her name.
That was when she could be heard making the comment about involving U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.
“That’s when I lost my s—,” Varela said. “I was like, ‘Are you serious? Call ICE on me right now.’”
Varela said that, as the argument escalated, the employee stepped out from behind the counter and shoved his hand away, causing him to stop the recording. His 14-year-old daughter, standing next to him, was crying, he said.
The family eventually made their flight after another United representative stepped in to finalize the ticket release.
“We are aware of a video being circulated online, but we have no verification of its authenticity or the full context,” the IAM Union said in a statement. “As depicted, the comments made in the video do not reflect the views or values of the IAM Union. Any potential matters arising from this incident will be handled through the appropriate processes established by the collective bargaining agreement.”
SFO officials declined to comment, directing inquiries to United Airlines.
The incident comes amid mounting fear among travelers of federal immigration enforcement at transit hubs. On July 13, video footage captured plainclothes ICE agents tackling and attempting to handcuff a 57-year-old man at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
In March, plainclothes ICE agents detained Angelina Lopez-Jimenez, a Contra Costa County mother and her 9-year-old daughter at SFO’s Terminal 3. The two were deported to Guatemala within 48 hours.
That arrest, which was prompted by data-sharing between the Transportation Security Administration and ICE, drew intense backlash from civil rights advocates and prompted the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution condemning federal immigration enforcement at the airport.
Though San Francisco is a sanctuary city, local policies cannot physically bar federal ICE agents from operating within the airport.
“Every time I fly, I’m like, ‘Are they going to let me in?’” Varela said. “You could be an American citizen born here. It doesn’t matter.”
Varela said that he heard through a personal connection at the airline that the employee had been suspended pending an investigation, though United did not confirm this.
The incident, he said, has cast a shadow over his family’s vacation, and he is currently considering seeking legal counsel regarding a potential civil rights violation.
“You can’t normalize racism. You can’t treat racists with empathy,” Varela said. “I definitely hope she gets fired.”