Border Patrol agents violently detained a landscaper in Santa Ana, California, in a series of operations on Saturday that triggered local protests.
Multiple videos making rounds online show a group of masked men wearing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) vests ganging up on a man identified by his family as Narciso Barranco, a Tustin resident and father to three U.S. Marine sons.
One video showed the landscaper carrying a weedwacker as he ran away from multiple agents chasing him. Two other videos captured Barranco pinned to the ground by a group of officers, one of whom repeatedly punched him in the face even though both of his hands were already behind his back.
The officers proceeded to manhandle Barranco as they forcefully loaded him into a vehicle.
In a statement to the Daily Beast, CBP confirmed that its agents conducted enforcement operations in Santa Ana on Saturday and slammed the videos circulating online as “one-sided.”
“Border Patrol Agents wearing uniform body armor assigned to enforcement operations in Santa Ana, CA encountered a man performing yard work,” it said. “Agents announced themselves and attempted to engage with a man in conversation. The subject refused to answer questions, ran from the agents, and then began swinging a large string trimmer.”
The CBP said agents used pepper spray on Barranco, adding that he “continuously forcefully resisted arrest.” He sustained minor scrapes and is now being processed for deportation.
Alejandro Barranco, a Marine veteran who served in Afghanistan, told local news outlet The Santanero on Sunday that his father was in pain and had not received food or medical attention since his detention.
“I do believe my father was racially profiled—they didn’t ask him anything,” he said. “They just started chasing him, and he ran because he was scared. He didn’t know who was after him.”
“He has always worked hard to put food on the table for us and my mom,” he added. “He was always careful and always did his taxes on time. He never caused any problems and he is known as a kind and helping person by everyone in our community.”
An online fundraiser for Barranco’s legal defense has so far garnered over $40,000 in donations.
“What we ALL saw today was disgusting and heart-wrenching. Time after time we are seeing stories like this one,” the GoFundMe page read.
Barranco’s arrest and the string of immigration operations sparked outrage in the local community, with dozens of people taking to the streets on Saturday to protest, according to NBC 4.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also raised alarm over Barranco’s arrest on Sunday.
“Welcome to Donald Trump’s America,” he wrote in an X post. “Are you disgusted yet?”
