Narciso Barranco, the California gardener seen on video being violently arrested by masked immigration agents last month, is speaking out for the first time in an exclusive sit-down interview with MSNBC to talk about his experience in federal custody, his future in the United States and his message for President Donald Trump.
I had hope, as I would always tell them, one day we’re going to get out.
Narciso Barranco
Just days after being released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, Barranco, who came to the U.S. from Mexico about three decades ago, spoke with MSNBC senior political and national correspondent Jacob Soboroff at his family’s Santa Ana home. Barranco, 48, was joined by his eldest son, Alejandro Barranco, 25, a U.S. Marine veteran; Barranco’s two younger sons are both active-duty Marines. (Barranco spoke in Spanish, which has been translated by MSNBC.)
Soboroff debuted portions of the interview on Monday’s episode of “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace,” describing his interview with Barranco as one of the most “profound and moving and shocking” of his career.
After Barranco was detained by federal agents, he was sent to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles before being transferred to an ICE detention center 60 miles away, in Adelanto, California. Soboroff recalled visiting that Adelanto facility during Trump’s first term amid the administration’s family separation policy, and described it as “one of the worst by reputation detention centers in the whole ICE system.”
Barranco told Soboroff that despite conditions in Adelanto, he never lost hope and had faith that he and his fellow detainees would be reunited with their families. “I had hope, as I would always tell them, one day we’re going to get out,” Barranco said. “We haven’t done anything bad. It’s just simply for working.”
Soboroff said Barranco spoke repeatedly about the other immigrants he met in detention and expressed guilt about those he left behind. “I see my reflection in their pain because it’s my own,” Barranco said.
When Soboroff asked Barranco if he had a message for Trump, the 48-year-old spoke about the devastating effects the president’s mass deportation policies were having on mixed-status families across the country. “Just don’t separate the families,” Barranco said. “That’s the only thing.”
Although Barranco has returned home to Santa Ana for now, his future in the U.S. remains uncertain. The father of three may soon be forced to return to Mexico, a place he has not been for decades.
When asked about what comes next, Barranco said he was focused on the here and now: “After what I just been through, we need to live for today, just today. Tomorrow, we don’t know.”
In the final clip Soboroff shared, Barranco reflected on how he has raised his sons to be proud to live in the U.S. and explained why he taught them to love their country.
After what I just been through, we need to live for today, just today. Tomorrow, we don’t know.
Narciso Barranco
“Because, for us Hispanics, it’s a land of opportunities,” he said. “But simply, I’ve always told them, ‘You want to be someone in life? Watch your record, protect yourself. If you want to be good, you’ll be good. And if you don’t want to be good, then you can just throw your life away.’”
Having provided his family with so many opportunities, Barranco said, he’s also learned through this experience that the U.S. government can easily take those chances away. “It’s just as this country can give us an opportunity,” he said, “it can also destroy many of us.”
You can listen to Soboroff’s full interview with Barranco on the latest episode of “The Best People with Nicolle Wallace.”
In the final clip Soboroff shared, Barranco reflected on how he has raised his sons to be proud to live in the U.S. and explained why he taught them to love their country.
