Video appears to show United employee threaten to call ICE on customer
A United Airlines employee appears to have been caught on video threatening to call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on a passenger last week at San Francisco International Airport.
Updated on: July 20, 2026 / 9:43 PM EDT / CBS San Francisco
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.
"Maybe we should call ICE on you," the employee is heard saying.
From behind the camera, Varela says, "You're going to call ICE on me?" As he tells the employee to repeat herself, she can be heard adding, "Maybe you need to be, because you don't act like a citizen. Get away."