A Mexican American father said he was floored when a United Airlines customer service representative threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on him at SFO.
A viral video posted on Reddit appears to show a United customer service representative threaten to call ICE on a customer. A Mexican American father was floored when a United Airlines customer service agent threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement on him during a heated interaction at San Francisco International Airport.
“My reaction was shock, disbelief, anger, embarrassment,” Julio Varela, 54, said in an interview Monday. “It was so demeaning. ” The incident took place Tuesday after Varela said he had spent more than two hours working with United to try to resolve a ticketing issue. As tensions escalated between him and a customer service agent, he took out his phone and began recording.
Varela was so outraged by the comment he decided to post the video on Reddit in an effort to seek accountability. It quickly attracted a massive amount of public and media attention, and a spokesperson for United confirmed Monday that the airline is investigating the incident. The events are the first major test fo Markwayne Mullin, who promised a steady hand for a department roiled by his predecessor’s conduct and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“I definitely wanted others to see, and I also want other immigrants or minorities to know — whether they’re legal, illegal, whether they have their residency or their citizenship — that if this happens to you, stand up,” he said. “You have got to fight back. ”In the nearly 90-second recording, Varela calls the customer service representative lazy, rude and racist and asks her for her name tag.
The heated encounter ends with the woman, who is also recording the confrontation, walking toward him and pushing his phone away.
“San Francisco is one of the most liberal cities in the nation,” he said. “Maybe if I would have been in Arkansas, I would have said, ‘Well, yeah, not too surprising,’ but it is super surprising. ” Varela is an American citizen and currently lives in San Ramon with his wife and their three daughters.
Last week, the family was traveling to Montreal but was initially unable to board their flight because one of his daughters had a problem with the spelling of her name on her ticket. The ticket was purchased through United Airlines, but the flight was operated by Air Canada, and it proved very challenging to get a new ticket printed with the correct name spelling, he said.
Varela claims that the United customer service agent had a bad attitude from the beginning and informed him that she did not care whether his family was able to board their flight. This made him angry and he called her rude and lazy, he said. The family was ultimately able to board after an Air Canada representative reissued a ticket; however, the entire airport experience left the family rattled.
The suspension was ordered after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver Monday in Maine and a week after another officer shot and killed a motorist in Houston.
“It is serious to threaten people with ICE after what has happened with ICE,” he said. “They don’t care if you’re a citizen, don’t care if you’re Hispanic, white, a mother, a veteran. They’ll shoot you, so it’s not a joke. ” A spokesperson for the union representing the employee said they were aware of the video but “have no verification of its authenticity or the full context.
” “As depicted, the comments made in the video do not reflect the views or values of the IAM Union,” the spokesperson said in a statement Monday.
“Any potential matters arising from this incident will be handled through the appropriate processes established by the collective bargaining agreement. ”United Airlines has been in touch with him to hear his side of the story and inform him they are investigating the incident, he said.
Since the encounter went viral, Varela said he had been inundated with interview requests and was making an effort to continue sharing his story to send a message that racism of any kind should not be tolerated.
“I’m always telling my girls that we need to stand up for what we believe in,” he said. “Now, I’ve got to show them what I’ve been preaching to them since they were born. ”Clara Harter is a breaking news reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Previously, she covered politics and education for the L.A.
Daily News. She majored in political science and Middle Eastern studies at Columbia University.
Earth, Wind, And Fire : The Multiple Factors Impacting California’s Wildfires UCLA professor and climate scientist, Alex Hall, joins host Kate Cagle to talk about how we can better prepare ourselves for the next mega-fire, including a proposal to create a classification system – and a standardized response – for Santa Ana wind storms, similar to the one we use for hurricanes in the U.S.The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins.
One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched. Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with actor and stand-up comedian Fabrizio Guido — currently starring in Netflix’s Running Point — for a conversation about growing up all over LA, making his film debut alongside Brad Pitt in World War Z at age 12, and what it took to build a career from child actor to leading man.
Please follow us on Google to support usUnited States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News: You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ice cream prices melt: Falling butterfat prices bring relief to the freezer aisleIce cream prices are cooling off at the cash register ahead of National Ice Cream Day.
Read more »
United Airlines worker threatens to call ICE on Bay Area family at SFOA Bay Area family was flying home to San Francisco International Airport with lingering fears of detainment after a viral video showed a United Airlines employee threatening to call immigration authorities on them during a ticketing dispute.
Read more »
United Airlines Employee Threatens to Call ICE on Hispanic Traveler Over Ticket ErrorA United Airlines employee threatened to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on a Hispanic traveler after his family's tickets were canceled due to a name error. The incident was captured on video and has sparked outrage over racial profiling and poor customer service.
Read more »
United Airlines employee threatens to call ICE on Bay Area family at SFOA viral video captured the confrontation during a ticketing dispute, leaving the family fearing detainment upon their return from Canada.
Read more »