A Santa Ana family was able to locate their father with the help of two California legislators after he was captured on video being punched and detained by federal agents over the weekend.
Narciso Barranco, a 48-year-old landscaper and father of three Marines, was being held in ICE custody at the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles.
California Senator Alex Padilla and Santa Ana Congressman Lou Carrera both stepped in to help the Barranco family locate their father after not knowing his whereabouts following his arrest.
“He’s been in this country for 25 years, not a traffic ticket, three sons that are U.S. Marines,” said Congressman Correa. “To have three sons who have taken an oath to defend this country, to give their lives up to this country, and this is the treatment he’s gotten from these agents. This is very sad.”
Correa says it was challenging to locate Barranco because he, along with other members of Congress, has been precluded from looking into ICE detention facilities.
“We made a lot of phone calls, we talked to a lot of individuals in the system, and finally we figured out that he was in Los Angeles this morning,” said Correa.
The Santa Ana congressman added that Barranco’s son, Alejandro, was finally able to see his father and get him to sign authorization papers to get an attorney to represent him.
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Alejandro Barranco said he spoke with his father through a window barrier at the federal detention center.
“He looked bad. He looked really bad,” Alejandro said. “He was wearing the same clothes as when they got him. Still had blood on his shirt. He just looked scared. His eyes are all red. He says they burn.”
Locating where his father was being held was challenging, Barranco said.
“It’s very hard,” Alejandro said. “To find him, we wouldn’t have known where he was if, over the phone call he didn’t tell us what the address was.”
Correa says they are hoping that Barranco is released on bond and has his day in court.
“He’s a law-abiding taxpayer. Three of his children are in the Marines. He deserves an opportunity to be in this country,” said Correa. “25 years in this nation, not a traffic ticket. Those are the kinds of immigrants America needs.”
In video of the weekend arrest, a federal agent was seen punching Narciso Barranco, who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, when he was pinned to the ground.
He was working a landscaping job outside an IHOP on Ritchey Street and Edinger Avenue when he was approached by Border Patrol agents. The Department of Homeland Security shared on social media Monday that Barranco assaulted a federal agent with a weed whacker as he was being taken into custody.
But his family said the longtime landscaper was trying to protect himself from pepper spray and several armed agents.
Alejandro said his father always knew he could be taken into custody by federal immigration authorities, but took the risk to provide for his family. Barranco’s two other sons are currently serving in the Marine Corps.
In a statement to Monday to NBCLA, the Department of Homeland Security said Barranco was in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
“Border Patrol Agents arrested an illegal alien who tried to evade law enforcement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “The illegal alien ran, then turned and swung a weed whacker directly at an agent’s face. He then fled through a busy intersection and raised the weed whacker again at the agent. The illegal alien refused to comply every step of the way—resisting commands, fighting handcuffs, and refusing to identify himself. 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. He is now in ICE custody.”