A Marine Corps veteran who served four years is now feeling betrayed and confused after his father was beaten and arrested by masked federal agents. He was at work, landscaping, and just trying to do his job. Another tragic story of a family caught in the ongoing ICE workplace raids that are traumatizing the immigrant communities. These poor people should not be ICE-olated and violated, leaving them crippled in fear.
Honor Thy Father
Alejandro Barranco told CNN Monday that his father, Narciso Barranco, was detained by federal agents Saturday afternoon while working as a landscaper at an IHOP in Santa Ana, California. The 25-year-old Marine veteran said his father was born in Mexico and has lived in the US since the 90s. My father is undocumented but has no criminal record, his son said. “He was always a good dad,” Alejandro Barranco said. “He always made sure we had food on the table. And he always taught us to respect, to love our country, to always give back.” All three of Narcisco Barranco’s sons are Marines.
Video of the violent take-down shows masked men dressed in tactical gear. They then pinned the elderly Barranco to the ground while repeatedly hitting him in the head and neck. Agents then forced him into an unmarked vehicle before taking him away.
When Does it Constitute Abuse?
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told CNN in response to an inquiry about Barranco an “illegal alien” who was arrested by Border Patrol agents after he “tried to evade law enforcement.”. They then tried to claim that he attempted to swing at them with a weed eater, but the video gives the lie to that claim. They again try to justify by saying he was trying to resist and flee!
Fight or Flight
When you take into account the two Minn. lawmakers who were shot and killed in their homes by a shooter posing as a police officer, I think anybody would be scared, and rightfully so, especially in light of the fact that ICE agents are known to refuse to identify themselves. The shooter who killed the two lawmakers identified himself as an officer and even had a patrol car, but he was a killer!
Blind Fear
“He just got scared,” Alejandro Barranco said. Who could blame anyone for fearing for their lives in these situations? For one minute, put yourselves in the shoes of these people. Who would not have this same fear? I lack trust in the justice system at this point, as well as police officers and ICE agents. I’m fast losing faith in my country as well, and I feel that we all share in this tragedy.
