{"id":1400826,"date":"2026-01-29T11:06:45","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T16:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1400826&preview=true&preview_id=1400826"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T16:07:10","slug":"new-jersey-fake-ice-robbery-agent-julio-garcia-barrera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/01\/29\/new-jersey-fake-ice-robbery-agent-julio-garcia-barrera\/","title":{"rendered":"NJ man posed as ICE agent to rob two people, police"},"content":{"rendered":"

A New Jersey man pretended to be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent<\/a> to rob two people in Newark, authorities said Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Julio Garcia Barrera<\/a>, 41, was charged with two counts of robbery and two counts of impersonating a public servant, Newark police said Wednesday in a press release. He was arrested Monday.<\/p>\n

The first robbery occurred around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 22, when Garcia Barrera pulled up in a dark-colored SUV on a person walking down the street, cops said. Garcia Barrera exited the vehicle, pulled a flashlight and told the unidentified victim he was an ICE agent<\/a>, pointing to an emblem on his chest, according to investigators.<\/p>\n

Garcia Barrera then put the victim against his vehicle, swiped $500 from the victim\u2019s wallet<\/a> and took off, police said.<\/p>\n\n

Two days later, Garcia Barrera pulled the same routine<\/a> on a different street in Newark, stopping next to a pedestrian, shining the flashlight and indicating an \u201cICE\u201d patch on his jacket, cops said. He robbed the victim of $300 cash and a debit card, which was later used at gas stations in East Orange, according to investigators.<\/p>\n

Cops found Garcia Barrera sitting in a parked vehicle<\/a> on Monday and arrested him in connection with the robberies.<\/p>\n

Since President Trump began his second term and launched ICE raids in cities across the country, several people have impersonated ICE agents<\/a> to commit crimes. The practice became widespread enough that in October, the FBI warned of it and asked real ICE agents to start identifying themselves<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, the agents and others working alongside them continued to cover their faces and rarely identify themselves, as seen in recent operations in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The agents who fatally shot U.S. citizen Alex Pretti<\/a> on Saturday have not been identified.<\/p>\n