Travel
United Airlines Employee Appears To Threaten To Call ICE On Passenger: 'You Don't Act Like A Citizen'
Julio Varela told CBS News that the incident began when an employee, who has not been identified, was rude and dismissive to him.
Updated on: July 21, 2026
A United Airlines employee appears to have been caught on video threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a customer during a ticketing dispute last week at San Francisco International Airport.
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East Bay resident Julio Varela, who was traveling with his family, told CBS News Bay Area that the incident began when an employee, who has not been identified, was rude and dismissive to him at the ticket counter. When the 54-year-old Varela asked for her name to report her, he said she refused, so he pulled out his phone to record her and the employee later did the same.
The video of the interaction caught on Varela's phone, which has gone viral since being uploaded to Reddit and other social media platforms, shows the employee holding up her phone in front of her face as Varela tries to get her name.
