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SAN DIEGO — A 53-year-old man has pleaded guilty to impersonating a U.S. Border Patrol agent as part of “obstructing a deportation mission” in Southern California, federal prosecutors announced.
Jaime Ernesto Alvarez-Gonzalez admitted in federal court on April 28 that he disguised himself as a Border Patrol agent earlier this year and distracted immigration agents during a deportation mission, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. Prosecutors said Alvarez Gonzalez is an illegal Mexican citizen who overstayed a tourist visa he used to enter the United States “decades ago.”
Alvarez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating a federal officer and three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release. He faces up to 18 years in prison and a total fine of $500,000.
Prosecutor: Man followed investigators in San Diego area
Prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez is accused of tailing a Border Patrol agent while driving near San Diego on January 8. At the time, Alvarez-Gonzalez was driving a black Ford F-150 truck, a vehicle also used by undercover Border Patrol agents.
Alvarez Gonzalez’s truck had a license plate on the frame that read “Federal Truck,” but the word federal was misspelled, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the truck had a Border Patrol sticker on its windshield, a non-functioning radio communication antenna on its roof, a light bar on its dashboard and handcuffs on its rearview mirror.
Prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez was dressed like a Border Patrol agent, including a face mask and a baseball cap with a “thin green line.”
According to the federal complaint, agents who were being followed by Alvarez-Gonzalez believed the truck was being used by actual federal agents who had deviated from their “conflict resolution” mission for safety reasons.
Prosecutors said Alvarez Gonzalez confronted other federal agents and “yelled obscenities and demanded that the agents leave the Linda Vista community.” Three additional vehicles also arrived at the agent’s location at some point and began harassing and chasing him on the highway, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors accused Alvarez Gonzalez of recording himself saying he was actively looking for federal agents involved in immigration enforcement. Prosecutors say he recounted his encounter with federal agents on video and said he brought “reinforcements.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Alvarez-Gonzalez on Jan. 14 because of his immigration status, and he was allegedly spotted wearing an FBI badge, prosecutors said. Further investigation revealed that Mr. Alvarez-Gonzalez was suspected of possessing three illegal firearms, and authorities also seized ammunition from his workplace.
Immigration arrests by plainclothes officers raise civil liberties concerns
According to a 2025 report from the Center for American Progress, ICE officers and other federal law enforcement agents conducting immigration raids in plain clothes and masks are “stoking fear in communities across the country.”
The incidents captured on video attracted national attention and sparked civil liberties concerns and condemnation. In April 2025, a man was seen on video being taken from a Virginia courthouse by plainclothes men who refused to produce identification or a warrant.
Other incidents include the detention of Columbia University student activist leader Mahmoud Khalil and the March 2025 arrest of Tufts University student Rumeisa Ozturk. In both cases, their attorneys said they were detained by plainclothes federal agents.
Civil rights experts said enforcement actions by masked and unidentified officers raise concerns about accountability and due process rights, USA TODAY previously reported. These practices also create an environment that fosters police impersonation and vigilante groups.
The Panama City News Herald, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported in April 2025 that a Florida woman was arrested on suspicion of impersonating an ICE agent and kidnapping her ex-boyfriend’s wife. Police said the woman was wearing a T-shirt with the word “ICE” written on it at the time and was carrying a portable radio.
Contributor: Trevor Hughes, USA TODAY
