Alejandro Barranco is a Marine veteran, and his two brothers are still serving in the Marine Corps and stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. All three of them were taught by their father to be proud Americans.
But on June 21, his father, Narciso Barranco, was arrested by Border Patrol agents in Santa Ana, California. Video posted on social media of Narciso’s arrest appears to show at least one law enforcement officer punching him several times while he was on the ground after being apprehended.
Now, Narciso is headed to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in California, his son Alejandro told Task & Purpose on Wednesday. Alejandro also said he doesn’t think it’s fair that the father of three Marines should be treated this way.
“He raised us to be educated, to be strong, to be helpful to this country, to serve our country, to be grateful,” Alejandro said. “It’s hard. It’s really hard on us, and it’s not right.”
Alejandro and his brothers are all American citizens. His father came to the United States from Mexico and had recently contacted an immigration attorney about applying for an immigration program known as “parole in place,” which allows undocumented members of military families to apply for a Green Card.
Although his father had started the process, he had not submitted a formal application prior to his arrest, Alejandro said.
The video of him being forcefully subdued has gone viral on social media, prompting criticism from Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calf.), who posted on X on Tuesday: “What in the hell is going on in this video? Narciso Barranco was tackled, punched, and pepper-sprayed by masked agents outside an IHOP in Orange County. He is a landscaper. A father of three US Marines. This is not America. If there is more to the story, we need answers and transparency, NOW.”
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs for the Department of Homeland Security, provided Task & Purpose a statement about the incident in which she did not identify Narciso by name.
McLaughlin said that Border Patrol agents had arrested an “illegal alien” on June 21, who had tried to run away from them, swung a weed wacker at an agent’s face, passed through a busy intersection, and ultimately tried to fight against being handcuffed. She also said that the agents offered him medical care, but he declined.
“The agents took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers,” McLaughlin said. “He is now in ICE custody.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, has also shared a video on X that it claims shows Narciso turning toward two agents and raising a weed whacker at them.
“If you swing a WEED WACKER at federal agents, run through traffic, and refuse to comply – there WILL be consequences,” CBP wrote in Tuesday’s X post.
But Alejandro said he does not believe that his father tried to attack the Border Patrol agents. Instead, he said he thinks Narciso instinctively turned toward the agents and raised the gardening tool because he did not know who they were.
A former engineer equipment mechanic who served in the Marines from 2019 to 2023, Alejandro also said he believes the Border Patrol agents acted unprofessionally when they apprehended Narciso.
“I don’t believe that they followed their training,” said Alejandro, who deployed to Kabul during the chaotic August 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan. “Repeatedly punching a man in the face while he’s on the ground while he’s been maced or pepper-sprayed, I don’t believe that that was in their training. Also, I don’t believe that their weapons were slung around them or in holsters. I think they were running with them, and that’s just a very unprofessional way of holding a firearm.”
Alejandro said his father, who does not have a criminal record, has been left feeling sad and defeated.
Though he believes the way his father has been treated is “very wrong,” Alejandro said it has not caused him to second-guess his decision to join the Marine Corps.
“I don’t regret my service to the country,” he said.
The latest on Task & Purpose
- Operation Midnight Hammer damaged, but may not have destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites
- An Army base will now honor a Buffalo Soldier
- 2 aircraft carriers, 9 destroyers, and multiple fighter wings gather in the Middle East
- Marines and sailors are building trenches for the drone age
- The Army is deactivating police units in deep cuts to number of military cops
