Who is Alejandro Barranco? Immigrant dad of 3 US Marines violently detained in disturbing video

The video sparked a protest with dozens of people demanding that the agents leave Santa Ana. An online fundraiser was also launched to help pay the man’s legal expenses.

The man in the video is a 48-year-old landscaper named Narciso Barranco. He was stopped on the street, and his son, 25-year-old Marine Alejandro Barranco, told NBC News on Sunday that two of his brothers also serve in the US Marines, currently stationed at Camp Pendleton.

Marine Alejandro Barranco says: ‘My dad has no criminal history…’

“I feel betrayed,” Alejandro said. “My dad has no criminal history. He wasn’t doing anything bad. He was just working. The way they (federal agents) attacked him, I don’t think it’s right.” Narciso is applying for parole-in-place, which can let undocumented family members of active-duty military stay in the US He’s lived in Orange County since the 1990s, owns a landscaping business, and—according to a court check—has no criminal record.

As of Sunday, Narciso was being held at a Los Angeles detention facility. US Rep. Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) called his detention “madness” and said current immigration policies are flawed. “You have a family of three kids that took an oath for the country, ready to lay down their lives for this country, and their parents can’t stay here?”

Narciso was working at an IHOP on Edinger Avenue on June 21 when men in civilian clothes and masks approached him. Alejandro said his father ran toward his truck to get his ID. Video shows federal agents chasing him while he carried a weed whacker. He was restrained on the ground, pepper-sprayed, and punched in the face multiple times by at least one agent. Alejandro says his father may also have dislocated his shoulder, though the family doesn’t know if he received medical treatment.

“I’m honestly really hurt because I love this country a lot, and I love my parents a lot. I gave up four years of my life to serve this country and show that I’m a patriot,” Alejandro said, noting he served in Afghanistan. He believes his father was racially profiled.

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About Narciso Barranco

Narciso was born in Morelia, Mexico, and moved to Orange County in the early 1990s. He works both through his own landscaping business, Barranco Landscaping, and for other companies.

By Sunday evening, a GoFundMe page set up for his legal fees had raised more than $41,000. The page reads: “He is a good, hard-working man. He has raised his family here and has established himself here. What we all saw today was disgusting and heart-wrenching.”

A few hours after the video went viral, about 100 people gathered in the streets waving American and Mexican flags. They marched through Santa Ana, demanding an end to the immigration sweeps and calling for Border Patrol agents to get out of town, according to NBC4.

Santa Ana Mayor Valerie Amezcua couldn’t be reached for comment. A Border Patrol spokesperson confirmed their agents made the arrest but declined to give more details.

President Trump has said immigration enforcement will focus on criminals, but many people detained by federal immigration agents have no serious convictions or criminal history, according to published reports.