Julio Varela was told by a United Airlines employee that he did not act like a citizen during a ticketing dispute.

Julio Varela, a 54-year-old resident of the East Bay, was reportedly insulted by a United Airlines employee during a ticketing dispute at San Francisco International Airport. The incident occurred after Varela spent three hours attempting to correct a name error on a ticket for his daughter. When the employee was dismissive of the situation, Varela asked for her name so he could report her behavior. The employee refused to provide her name and instead pulled out her phone to record Varela. She then told him, "Maybe we should call ICE on you," and added, "You don't act like a citizen." Varela, who is a naturalized citizen, expressed shock at the remark, noting that it was particularly galling to be told he did not act like a citizen while being a Hispanic man in San Francisco. Although the family was eventually able to board their flight, the interaction has since gone viral. United Airlines stated that the company is looking into the interaction but provided no further details.

Sources

• CBS News
  United Airlines employee appears to threaten to call ICE on passenger: "You don't act like a citizen"
• The Guardian
  United Airlines says it will ‘look into’ worker’s threat to call ICE in viral video
• ABC7 Bay Area
  United investigates after agent allegedly threatened to call ICE on San Ramon man, a passenger at SFO over ticketing dispute
• The Daily Beast
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