Santa Ana holds vigil for Narciso Barranco

Santa Ana, CA – On Friday, June 27, approximately 200 people came out for a vigil for Narciso Barranco, who was brutally assaulted and kidnapped by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Santa Ana on June 21.

The assault happened while Barranco was working outside of an IHOP where he had been hired to do landscaping work. Unidentifiable masked men chased Barranco then held him face down on pavement while one of the federal agents repeatedly punched him on his head. Barranco can be heard on video footage screaming, with horrified onlookers shouting, “Why are you hitting him?”

Narciso Barranco has been living in the U.S. for decades with no criminal history and has three sons who are all in the U.S. Marines.

The vigil started off with Narciso’s son, Alejandro Barranco, speaking about his father with a candle in hand. “I just want to speak about my dad right now. He is the hardest-working man I know; he is the person I look up to.” Alejandro Barranco went on to describe the injustice his father and other day laborers like him are experiencing, saying, “The fact that this happened while he was working is disastrous. All these people that are getting detained or attacked are just trying to provide! They are not criminals. They are hardworking people with families.”

Aliya Yousufi of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) stated, “I am so sick of President Trump and his cronies telling us they are going after criminals and rapists and when we see with our own eyes masked individuals descending upon a person simply cutting grass, tackling him, punching him repeatedly and then abducting him without any communication to his family. Who is the gangster in this scenario? Who are the ones making our neighborhoods unsafe?” She continued, “We want all our fathers, mothers, and sisters released now!”

“I wasn’t born here; I fought for my citizenship. I went to interviews and appointments just like people are now and they are getting taken and abducted. Today, I can’t tell them [immigrants attending their hearings] that they will be able to leave their hearing and they will be able to go back to their families. I can’t promise that,” said Orange County Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento.

The fired-up crowd chanted, “ICE out of OC!”

One of the last speakers, Rain Mendoza of Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC), gave a reflection on how the racist ICE raids have impacted Santa Ana and day laborers, “The streets of Santa Ana are empty. Buses have no passengers. Stores have no customers. And sidewalks have no activity. However, for those whose jobs are outside, such as day laborers and street vendors, they have an unimaginable situation and choice they make daily. They can either not go to work and make money to support their livelihood and their families or go to work and be detained and deported.”

Dozens of white candles were then passed around and lit. The vigil participants marched across the street where the assault took place.

During the closing remarks, Pastor Dave Gibbons commented on the injustice that Narciso Barranco and his family have suffered and then led a prayer, “This family was wronged. This is not just a tragedy but a betrayal of justice. Even if Jesus were here today, he would be detained because he was a refugee. We pray for his family. We stand with Narciso.”

The event was organized by Narciso Barranco’s family and the Orange County Rapid Response Network. Many politicians, political organizations, and religious leaders were in attendance and spoke including: CAIR, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, CSO OC, Arab American Civil Council, and Collective Freedom.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #ICE #CSOOC