A United Airlines employee at San Francisco International Airport threatened to call immigration authorities on Julio Varela’s family during a ticketing dispute that unfolded on July 14 and later spread through a viral video. Varela said the family was still waiting for reassurance as they flew home to San Francisco from Montreal on Saturday night.
The clash centered on a problem with his daughter’s ticket. Varela, of San Ramon, said his wife had accidentally entered the child’s last name as a middle name a few months ago, and a United representative had told the family by phone to arrive at SFO early Tuesday so airport customer service could fix it. Instead, he said they waited nearly three hours before a United partner airline employee was close to resolving the issue and a different worker stepped in to cut it off.
Varela said that worker told them she did not care, that the problem was his daughter’s, and that they should take it up with her even if the family did not fly out that day. He said she refused to identify herself, pulled out her own phone to record, and then, as shown in the video, said, “Maybe we should call ICE on you.” When Varela asked her to repeat it, he said she replied, “Maybe you need to be, because you don’t act like a citizen. Get away.”
That line cut deepest because Varela said he is a U.S. citizen. He said the comment and the threat to call ICE infuriated him, especially given the political climate and the role immigration enforcement already plays in so many families’ lives. He also said the worker hit his hand and his phone, which he described as an assault.
United Airlines said it is looking into the interaction but had no additional comment. The IAM Union, whose communications director said the organization had seen the video but had not yet verified its authenticity, said the comments did not reflect its values. Whether the airline identifies the employee or takes any discipline is now the part that matters most, because the family was able to travel home only after the dispute had already become public and their trust in the process had been shaken.
For Varela, the unanswered question is not about the ticket anymore. It is whether his family should have to wonder what will happen the next time they walk back into SFO.
