Outrage in California after Mexican gardener beaten by Border Patrol agents

He is the father of three U.S. soldiers. A landscaper and hard-working man with no criminal record. A man who has lived in the United States for 31 years. But for the Donald Trump administration, Narciso Barranco, 48, is first and foremost an undocumented immigrant — the ultimate sin in today’s political climate.

Barranco was detained over the weekend in the city of Santa Ana by Border Patrol agents. Images of his brutal arrest — in which a group of armed agents are seen forcibly subduing him and beating him on the ground — have been sparking outrage on social media for several days. It is yet another example of the violence the administration uses against undocumented immigrants.

A source at the Mexican consulate in Los Angeles confirmed to EL PAÍS that Narciso Barranco is being held at the detention center where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) transfers individuals arrested in raids. During his interview with Mexican diplomats, Barranco had a torn shirt and complained of severe shoulder pain. The diplomats informed U.S. authorities that he required medical attention. As of Monday afternoon, it was unclear whether he had received any. The Mexican government, through its Foreign Ministry, also stated that it would provide legal assistance to the detainee.

Barranco, 48, originally from Cuernavaca, Morelos, was working last Saturday morning in the gardens of a café in the city of Santa Ana when a group of masked Customs and Border Protection agents began a raid at a Home Depot store located a few meters from the restaurant. The masked individuals approached him and asked if he had papers.

It’s unclear what happened next. “I do believe my father was racially profiled — they didn’t ask him anything,” Alejandro Barranco, Narciso’s eldest son, told reporters on Sunday. “They just started chasing him, and he ran because he was scared. He didn’t know who was after him.”

Images show one of these federal agents spraying pepper spray in the gardener’s face, as he runs with a weed whacker in his hands. Moments later, several men hit Barranco in the head and face, as he lies on the ground.

“Ey, leave him alone bro!” yelled a motorist near the Santa Ana IHOP restaurant who recorded the video. The footage also shows the men forcibly forcing Barranco into a van and beating him again with a metal baton.

However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) disputes the account of events that has fueled anger in the Latino community and outrage across Southern California. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claims that Barranco swung a weed whacker at an officer’s face and did not cooperate with the arrest. The official told the Los Angeles Times that Barranco was an “illegal alien,” and accused the newspaper of distorting the facts.

Alejandro Barranco, 25, says his father has suffered a grave injustice. Narciso’s eldest son is a veteran who was deployed to Afghanistan. His two younger brothers are Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton, the army base north of San Diego.

“I don’t think they need four 200 [pounds]-plus guys to hold down a 5-6 or 5-7, 150-pound guy,” Barranco said. “I love what I did, and I love serving my country. I think my brothers do as well, and it just infuriates us that our own country is doing this to our own people. What we fight for is justice, and we need a better pathway to fix all of this,” he said in an interview with local television.

Alejandro was able to speak with his father on Sunday night. “He sounded scared, he sounded like he was crying,” he said. The first thing Narciso asked his eldest son, however, was to finish the job he left unfinished when he was arrested. “He asked me to come back and finish sweeping the parking lot, because he couldn’t do it. It’s incredible that even after being beaten and arrested, that was what worried him the most,” said Alejandro.

The Barranco family has launched a fundraising campaign to help cover the legal defense needed to keep Narciso in the United States. His children insist that he raised their family in this country, where he settled many years ago. “What we all saw today was disgusting and heart-wrenching,” reads the GoFundMe page. It’s another case that has sparked a response from a community terrified by the government’s tactics. Since Saturday, $150,000 has been raised. More than the money, the Barranco family just wants their father back.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition