United Airlines rep appears to threaten to call ICE on customer
A United Airlines employee was captured on video appearing to threaten to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a passenger during a ticket counter dispute last week at San Francisco International Airport.
“Maybe we should call ICE on you,” the unidentified staff member is heard saying in the recording.
The altercation began when 54-year-old East Bay resident Julio Varela arrived at the airport with his family to resolve an issue with one of his daughters’ tickets, which had mistakenly listed her middle name as her last name.
According to Varela, the family had spent hours attempting to fix the error when the employee told them she could not assist and that they would miss their flight.
“I say, ‘well, my wife made the mistake, but we’ve been trying to correct it,’” Varela told CBS News. “So that’s what we’re here for, so you can help us. She says, ‘well, I don’t care if you fly or not.’ So that’s what got me upset. I said, ‘what’s your name?’ She said, ‘I’m not going to give you my name.’”
When the staff member refused to identify herself, Varela pulled out his mobile phone to record the interaction, prompting the worker to do the same.
Footage posted online shows the employee holding her phone directly in front of her face in an attempt to block her appearance while seemingly recording back.
From behind the camera, Varela responds to the initial statement: “You’re going to call ICE on me?”
“Maybe you need to be,” the employee can be heard saying when Varela tells her to repeat herself, “because you don’t act like a citizen. Get away.”
The video shows the employee repeatedly telling Varela to “get out my face.” Varela responds by telling her, “you got some guts lady,” and threatens legal action, to which she replies, “okay, you sue.”
As the confrontation continues, Varela shouts, “United Airlines has a racist customer service lady,” and tells her, “you’re lazy, and you’re rude and you are racist.”
Varela, who was traveling with his wife and three daughters, noted that all five family members are U.S. citizens.
“I was so shocked, I was angry,” Varela told CBS News. “It’s intimidating, because my kids didn’t know, you know, if when we get back, are we, am I going to be arrested? Is ICE going to be there?”
He added: “My 14-year-old daughter is crying on the side, and she’s screaming. My daughter’s, like, ‘Why would you say you were going to call ICE?’ That’s so rude and disrespectful, you know?”
