911±¬ÁÏÍø

A disturbing video captured Barranco being beaten and arrested by seven masked federal agents while working as a landscaper at an IHOP in Santa Ana, California. Barranco is pinned to the ground and struck repeatedly in the face and head while he cries out during the brutal apprehension.

The circumstances of the arrest have become a flashpoint in America’s immigration debate. Department of Homeland Security officials claim Barranco “swung a weed whacker� at an agent’s face and refused to comply with commands, justifying what they describe as appropriate use of force. Witnesses, however, tell a different story, describing a man who panicked and ran before being tackled and beaten.

CNN reported that Barranco came to the United States from Mexico in the 1990s and has lived here for more than three decades. During that time, he built a life that embodies many American ideals: hard work, family devotion, and service to the country through his children.

All three of Barranco’s sons serve in the U.S. Marine Corps. His eldest, Alejandro, is a 25-year-old veteran who said of his father: “He was always a good dad. He always made sure we had food on the table. He always taught us to respect, to love our country, to always give back.�

Barranco’s son has been concerned about conditions at the detention center where his father is being held. He told NBC that when he saw his father at the facility, he was wearing the same clothes as when he was arrested, that he had not been able to wash his face or shower, that he had blood on his shirt and that his eyes were burning.

Alejandro said his father told him he is being held in a cage with at least 70 other people, with one toilet and no privacy, and that he has received water “maybe once a day� and “very, very little food.�

In 2024, President Donald Trump ran on a campaign of securing our border and deporting “dangerous criminals.� Trump and his administration have been successful in their efforts on largely sealing our southern border and should be praised for doing so.

Where Trump has overreached is the detention and deportation of non-criminals who have been productive members of their communities, sometimes for decades.

This contradiction reveals something uncomfortable about American immigration policy: it often punishes the very people whose labor and families strengthen American communities.

Barranco’s detention serves no clear public safety purpose beyond demonstrating the government’s capacity for enforcement action.

The video of Barranco’s apprehension has sparked outrage partly because it crystallizes broader concerns about immigration enforcement tactics. The use of masked agents and the apparent disproportion between the alleged offense and the response all contribute to an image of enforcement that seems designed more to intimidate than to serve justice.

Yes, Barranco is undocumented and came here illegally. But his case highlights the need for a comprehensive immigration policy — one that provides pathways to legal status for long-term residents with strong community ties while maintaining the rule of law.

The answer is for Congress to do its job and to pass comprehensive immigration legislation. But few believe they will any time soon.

The measure of any immigration policy should be whether it makes America stronger, safer and truer to its founding principles. By that standard, the detention of Barranco feels less like justice and more like a failure of imagination about what American believe in and what we celebrate on its birthday.

Alejandro said his father is a hard worker, with no criminal record. He said his father’s first worry when they spoke the day after he was arrested was finishing the job he was doing at an IHOP restaurant when the arrest happened. “He asked me to talk to the manager at the IHOP and make sure that he knew that I was going to be taking over.�

As an American, I want more people like Barranco joining us as citizens. As a country, we need to figure out how to welcome them, not assault them. Barranco raised three good boys who as men volunteered to make the ultimate sacrifice for this country, as well as doing a job that frankly many Americans would not want to do.

Barranco’s situation embodies a profound contradiction between America’s ideals and its practices, between the country his sons serve and the one that views their father as an enemy.

Alejandro told NBC: “My dad and mom, they’ve always taught us to respect this country, to be thankful for this country and to just be appreciative of all the opportunities this country offers for us.�

This is exactly the message we should all wish to espouse on our country’s birthday.