Who Is Narciso Barranco? Father Of Three Marines Facing Deportation From US

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Narciso Barranco, a Mexican gardener, was detained in a raid in California as part of US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown in the United States.

The father of three Marines was intercepted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in June this year while trimming a garden at a restaurant in Santa Ana, a city south of Los Angeles, news agency AFP reported.

The incident was captured by witnesses in videos that spread like wildfire on social media. Recently, the Department of Home Security shared the video on X, while reacting to a New York Times report and reiterating that“Narciso Barranco attacked a CBP agent and wildly swung a weed whacker directly at the agent's face.”

Who is Narciso Barranco?

The US Department of Homeland Security called Narciso Barranco "an illegal alien" - the term the Trump administration uses for immigrants who entered the US illegally.

After three decades in California, Narciso Barranco was arrested by US federal agents while weeding outside an IHOP, stirring outrage and a fight to stop his deportation.

Barranco's memory of his arrest is fragmented: the blinding sting of pepper spray; beefy federal agents taking him down and pinning him to the pavement; their relentless blows; the pain radiating from his left shoulder.

Narciso Barranco had reportedly emigrated from Mexico in the 1990s. He has three sons – all United States citizens. One of them, Alejandro, has left the military, while his two brothers are stationed at Camp Pendleton, also in Southern California, AFP reported.

Martha Hernandez, Barranco's wife and the stepmother of the three young men, is also an American citizen.

Marine veteran Alejandro said his father, Narciso Barranco, 56, had lived in California since the '90s without legal status, but also without any criminal record.

“He always taught us to respect, to love our country, to always give back,” the younger Barranco said, adding that he feels“betrayed.”

All three of Barranco's sons were born in the US and eventually joined the US military. Alejandro left the Marine Corps in 2023. His two brothers are currently active-duty Marines.

Why does the US want to deport Narciso Barranco?

The Saturday arrest of Narciso Barranco, who came to the US from Mexico in the 1990s but does not have legal status, is the latest to capture widespread attention as the crackdown on immigration by President Donald Trump's administration draws scrutiny and protests.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security, told AFP that Narciso Barranco tried to flee and "brandished a weed whacker directly at an officer's face," so officers took appropriate action.

McLaughlin reportedly said they used "the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a way that prioritised the safety of the public and our officers."

However, Alejandro Barranco, Narciso's son, disputed the claims and said his father did not attack anyone.

He said he was shocked to see a video on social media of his father, a landscaper in Southern California, being beaten by masked US Border Patrol officers as he was pinned to the ground during an immigration arrest.

"The video shows [Narciso] moving the weed whacker. I think it's natural instinct because he was sprayed with something seconds before...but he never brandished it directly at an officer," he said.

"There's a guy holding his gun sideways, finger on the trigger pointing at a vehicle. I don't see how that makes sense. The minimum amount of force doesn't include restraining a man and repeatedly hitting him in the neck and face areas. I think that's the maximum amount of force short of lethal force."

The video

The US DHS posted a video in which Barranco was seen running with the trimmer in the air as agents tried to corral him.

At one point, an agent sprayed him with pepper spray, and Barranco moved the trimmer between him and the agent but it did not touch him.

Behind him, another officer has his gun drawn as he crosses a busy intersection.

In another video, Barranco was seen running through the intersection still holding his trimmer upright as a truck moves to block his path.

He then darted to another lane and tried to open a car door before agents tackle him. As he screamed and yelled, cars honk and one motorist shouts:“Leave him alone, bro.”

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