United attorney threatens to call ICE on California customer over viral video

A Mexican-American father was surprised when a United Airlines customer service agent threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a heated interaction at San Francisco International Airport.

“My reaction was shock, disbelief, anger, disappointment,” Julio Varela, 54, said in an interview Monday. “It was very humiliating.”

The incident happened on Tuesday after Varela said he had spent more than two hours working with United to try to resolve the ticket issue. As the situation escalated between him and the customer service company, he took out his phone and started recording.

“Maybe we should call ICE,” the female employee said in the video, followed by, “You're not acting like a citizen, run away.”

Varela was offended by the comments and decided to post the video on Reddit in an attempt to seek accountability. It quickly attracted a lot of public and media attention, and a United spokesperson confirmed on Monday that the airline is investigating the incident.

“I definitely wanted others to see, and I want other immigrants or minorities to know – whether they are legal, illegal, or have a place to live or their citizenship – that if this happens to you, stand up,” she said. “You have to fight.”

In the nearly 90-second recording, Varela calls the customer service representative lazy, rude and racist and asks for her name tag. The heated argument ends when the woman who is also recording the argument, approaches him and pushes his phone.

Varela said he was shocked that someone from California would suggest calling ICE on a Latino.

“San Francisco is one of the most liberal cities in the nation,” he said. “Maybe if I was in Arkansas, I would say, 'Yeah, yeah, it's not too surprising,' but it's very surprising.”

Varela is a US citizen and currently lives in San Ramon with his wife and three daughters. Last week, the family was going to Montreal but initially couldn't board their flight because one of her daughters had trouble writing her name on her ticket.

The ticket was purchased through United Airlines, but the flight was operated by Air Canada, and it was a challenge to get a new ticket with the correct name on it, he said.

Varela says the United customer service agent had a bad attitude from the start and told her she didn't care if her family was able to board their flight. This angered him and he called him careless and lazy, he said.

The family was finally able to board after an Air Canada representative re-issued the ticket; However, everything that happened at the airport left the family confused.

“It's hard to threaten people with ICE after what happened with ICE,” he said. “They don't care if you're a citizen, they don't care if you're Hispanic, white, a mother, a veteran. They're going to shoot you, so it's not a joke.”

A spokesman for the union representing the employee said they are aware of the video but “have no confirmation of its authenticity or full context.”

“As indicated, the comments made in the video do not reflect the views or values ​​of the IAM Union,” a spokesperson said in a statement on Monday. “Any issues that may arise as a result of this incident will be handled through the appropriate procedures established by the collective bargaining agreement.”

Varela said it was insulting that the union would question the authenticity of his video.

United Airlines contacted him to get his side of the story and let him know they were investigating the incident, he said.

So far, no information has been shared about any disciplinary action the employee may face.

Since the meeting broke out, Varela said he has been inundated with interview requests and is making efforts to continue his case to send a message that discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated.

“I always tell my girls that we have to stand up for what we believe in,” he said. “Now, I have to show them what I have been preaching to them since they were born.”