A federal immigration judge has ended the deportation case against Narciso Barranco, the Mexican father of three U.S. Marines whose arrest on video showing masked federal agents pinning him down and punching him outside an IHOP in Southern California went viral last year.Rigo Hernandez, 44, told The Times that the judge terminated his stepfather’s case during a virtual hearing on Jan. 28.“It was the third case the judge heard that day,” Hernandez said in a phone interview. “It was nerve-racking.”Barranco, 49, made national headlines when Border Patrol agents took him into custody on June 21 while he tended to some grass with a weed whacker outside a Santa Ana IHOP. The arrest was caught on video that was shared on social media, and soon after, his eldest son was granting interviews to the media, keeping his father’s case in the news cycle, pushing for his release. Alejandro Barranco, a Marine veteran, told The Times then that his father had been pepper-sprayed and that his shoulder had been dislocated.At the time, the Department of Homeland Security denied Barranco’s shoulder had been dislocated and blasted him on social media, accusing him of assaulting federal law enforcement with the weed whacker. In a statement after the incident, the agency claimed Barranco “ran, then turned and swung a weed whacker directly at an agent’s face. He then fled through a busy intersection and raised the weed whacker again at the agent.”But Barranco’s family said that he ran away because he was afraid and that no charges were ever filed against him. But an effort to remove him from the country was started in earnest. Barranco spent more than three weeks in federal custody before he was released. Narciso Barranco’s three sons are all Marines. From left, Emanuel, Jose Luis, Narciso and Alejandro Barranco. (Alejandro Barranco) During his father’s hearing last month, Hernandez felt anxious, he said, as the judge listened to arguments from attorneys representing his father and the Department of Homeland Security. But he started to feel slightly better as the judge’s questions started to lean in favor of his father.“Once the judge said, ‘I’m compelled to agree with the defendant’s attorney,’ there was a sigh of relief,” he said.Orange City Councilmember Arianna Barrios, who attended his bond hearing last year, celebrated the recent ruling. “I am thrilled the judge saw the validity of Mr. Barranco’s argument,” she said. “It is a fitting tribute to an honorable man who has given this country the gift of three brave and courageous U.S. Marines.”In an email response to The Times, Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said the agency plans to appeal the ruling. “This activist judge’s ruling does not change the facts that Narciso Barranco is an illegal alien,” she wrote. “He attacked a [Customs and Border Protection] agent and wildly swung a weed whacker directly at the agent’s face. He then fled through a busy intersection and raised the weed whacker again at the agent.”Since the ruling, Hernandez said, his father no longer has to wear an ankle monitor or check in with federal immigration officials. The ruling also means he’ll be able to get his bond money back. “He still has to settle his legal status,” he said. “But this clears the way for that.”Shortly after his father was taken into custody in June, Hernandez said, his father’s attorney petitioned for him to be put into a federal program that allows immediate family members of U.S. citizens or military service members to temporarily remain in the country and apply for a work visa.The program, dubbed Parole in Place, allows immigrants to obtain legal permanent residence faster.Barranco, who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, is married to a U.S. citizen and is father to three Marines, including one on active duty.“Hopefully that Parole in Place will take full effect and then he can get his permanent residence, so we’re very happy,” Hernandez said. “My mom was very excited about the news, and I know Narciso feels a little bit more at ease.”Barranco’s attorney, Lisa Ramirez, said it was the Parole in Place program that ultimately helped convince the judge that his case should be dropped. Ramirez, who is running for Congress, challenging U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills), said she worries about the government’s response to the recent ruling. “It leaves him vulnerable until he has his permanent residency status,” she said. “He won’t have that peace of mind that I think he deserves.”Hernandez said his father is still very guarded and does not go out.“We do limit his outings and his exposure because he is still at risk of possibly encountering” federal immigration agents, Hernandez said. Times staff writer Kaitlyn Huamani contributed to this report. More to Read