United Airlines investigating worker who threatened to call ICE on passenger - KTVU

What the report says

KTVU San Francisco reported that United Airlines is reviewing the conduct of an employee at San Francisco International Airport after a passenger’s video showed the worker threatening to contact ICE during a dispute. The incident involved Julio Varela and his family on July 14, when they were trying to fix an error on one of his daughters’ tickets before a planned trip to Montreal.

According to KTVU, Varela said the family had been directed between United Airlines and Air Canada counters before a United employee told them she could no longer assist and that they would not be able to travel that day. Varela began recording after the exchange escalated. The footage, as described by the station, captured both sides calling each other rude, and the employee taking out her own phone before making the ICE-related threat and questioning whether Varela was acting like a citizen.

Varela told KTVU the remark was degrading and intimidating, particularly in the current climate around immigration enforcement. He said the family eventually made it to Montreal and returned to the Bay Area despite the delay. United told KTVU it was looking into the interaction but had no further details to share; Varela said the airline apologized to him privately.

KTVU also cited immigration and criminal defense attorney Ronald Cabanayan, who said that if someone were profiled because of appearance, race, ethnicity or national origin, it could implicate civil rights protections. The report did not state whether any lawsuit or formal complaint had been filed.