Letters to the Editor: It is time we honor, not ‘terrorize,’ immigrants who’ve contributed to our country

To the editor: Anyone who watched the video of landscaper Narciso Barranco being arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents saw that Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin simply lied in her claim that minimal force was used (“Father of three Marines beaten by masked federal agents, set to be released from immigration facility,” July 11). Her suggestion that this middle-aged gardener with a lawn edger somehow posed a threat to half a dozen heavily armed federal agents is beyond preposterous. But that is the soup du jour of this administration every day now: lie, double down on the lie, then accuse your accuser of having a political agenda or being “fake news.”

Yes, Barranco entered America illegally in the ‘90s looking for a better life — a crime, by the way, made easier by a country that actively looked the other way. He then proceeded to live a life anyone could be proud of, working hard, paying taxes, having three sons in the Marines and never breaking another law. We are a nation of immigrants. It is time to honor them rather than terrorize them.

Bart Braverman, Indio