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A man accused of impersonating a federal immigration officer and allegedly targeting actual agents now faces significant prison time. Prosecutors claim his actions endangered law enforcement personnel.
Jaime Ernesto Alvarez-Gonzalez, 53, who has been residing illegally in the U.S. since overstaying a tourist visa decades ago, admitted guilt on Tuesday. He confessed to posing as a U.S. Border Patrol agent in an attempt to disrupt deportation operations.
Officials assert that Alvarez-Gonzalez’s actions were both intentional and methodically planned.
On January 8, he reportedly followed an authentic Border Patrol agent across San Diego, California. He was driving a black Ford F-150, modified to mimic an undercover federal vehicle.
Prosecutors have also revealed that Alvarez-Gonzalez was in possession of firearms, despite being legally barred from having them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California.
The truck appeared convincing at a glance, outfitted with a Border Patrol sticker, fake radio antennas, a dashboard light bar and handcuffs hanging from the mirror despite a license plate frame that misspelled Federal as “Ferderal.”
It worked well enough that the real agent believed he was being followed by another federal officer and pulled off his mission for safety.
According to court filings, Alvarez-Gonzalez narrated the encounter in real time, claiming he was “on patrol” as he tracked the agent through city streets. At one point, he pulled alongside the agent at a stoplight and began recording him, later following him into a gas station parking lot and declaring he would stay on his “target.”
Prosecutors say Alvarez-Gonzalez posed with official Border Patrol vehicles. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California)
Prosecutors say Alvarez-Gonzalez, wearing a face mask and a “thin green line” hat, was actively searching for federal agents involved in ICE and Border Patrol operations.
Prosecutors say Alvarez-Gonzalez recorded himself during the incident. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California)
When agents confronted him, the situation escalated quickly.
Authorities say he shouted obscenities, ordered agents out of the Linda Vista neighborhood and then called in what he described as his “reinforcements.” Multiple vehicles soon arrived, and people began harassing and chasing federal agents onto the highway, an encounter Alvarez-Gonzalez filmed himself.
He was arrested days later. But investigators say the impersonation was only part of the story.
A series of photos shared by prosecutors show Alvarez-Gonzalez handling guns at a Houston-area shooting range after traveling to Texas despite being barred from possessing weapons. In one image, he is seen holding a Kalashnikov-style rifle alongside a caption referencing “Pancho Villa” in the United States.
Vehicle used in the alleged impersonation featured a Texas plate labeled “Ferderal Truck.” (U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of California)
Additional images appear to show him displaying multiple rifles near a pickup truck and standing beside a Ford vehicle with a Texas license plate and markings resembling a “Ferderal Truck” label paired with a sheriff-style emblem.
Authorities recovered law enforcement-style items and plates from the defendant. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California)
Authorities say other photos place him in front of an actual Border Patrol vehicle and, in a separate shot, near a heavily secured stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, where he is seen wearing what appears to be a vest and badge while standing by a “No Trespassing” sign.
Alvarez-Gonzalez near a restricted area at the southern border. (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California)
Investigators say they also recovered an FBI-style badge and found that Alvarez-Gonzalez had access to guns, including a Glock pistol, along with ammunition linked to weapons he was not legally allowed to possess.
Court documents further allege he tried to cover his tracks. While in custody, authorities say he called an associate and asked that law enforcement-style markings be removed from his vehicles. When agents later searched them, much of the apparent impersonation gear had already been taken off.
After his guilty plea, Alvarez-Gonzalez faces a potential sentence of up to 15 years in prison on the gun charges alone.
Fox News Digital reached out to his attorney.