A passenger from California reported having been threatened with a call to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) by a United Airlines employee during an argument at San Francisco International Airport, an incident that was recorded on video and went viral on social media.

According to a report published by the Los Angeles Times, the airline confirmed that it has already opened an internal investigation to clarify what happened and determine whether the worker's actions complied with the company's protocols.

The video sparked controversy

The affected person, Julio Varela, 54 years old and a US citizen of Mexican-American origin, said that the incident occurred after spending more than two hours trying to resolve a problem with a plane ticket for a family trip to Montreal.

When the argument with a customer service representative escalated, Varela began recording with his cell phone. In the video, the employee is heard saying: “Maybe we should call ICE.”

Moments later he adds: “You're not behaving like a citizen, get out.”

Varela assured that he decided to publish the video to show what happened. "My reaction was shock, disbelief, anger and shame. It was very humiliating," he said.

United Airlines opens investigation

After the video was released, United Airlines reported that it had already contacted Varela to find out his version of the events and confirmed that it is maintaining an investigation into the employee's behavior.

So far, the company has not reported whether there will be disciplinary measures.

The passenger explained that the conflict began because one of his daughters had a mistake in writing her name on the ticket. Finally, a representative from Air Canada, which operated the flight, was able to issue a new boarding pass and the family was able to travel.

Varela maintained that using the threat of calling ICE is especially delicate in the immigration context that the country is experiencing.

“It is serious to threaten people with ICE after what has happened to them,” he declared.

The union representing the employee indicated that it is aware of the video, although it noted that it cannot yet verify its authenticity or the full context of the recording.

Varela stated that he will continue to share his story to denounce any act of discrimination and recalled that the objective of making the video public was to encourage other people to report similar situations.

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