Greg Bovino leaves Minneapolis
Greg Bovino has led the Trump administration’s military approach to immigration enforcement.
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol agent who became the face of the Trump administration’s controversial immigration crackdown, plans to retire at the end of March, multiple news outlets reported on March 16.
Bovino, currently the chief patrol agent along California’s El Centro area on the U.S.-Mexico border, announced in an interview with Breitbart Texas that he would be retiring from the agency in the coming weeks, but he has not yet filed the required paperwork. CBS News, NBC News and CNN also reported, citing anonymous sources, that Bovino is retiring after nearly 30 years with the Border Patrol.
“The greatest honor of my life has been working alongside Border Patrol agents at the U.S. border and in the interior of the United States, in some of the most difficult conditions Border Patrol has ever faced,” Bovino told Breitbart Texas.
He added that it was humbling to watch the agents “do their best in the most dangerous environment they have ever faced.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for comment.
His retirement plans coincide with the departure of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, whose final term at the department ends March 31. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump fired Noem and appointed her special envoy for America’s Shield, his initiative to police drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.
Mr. Bovino has emerged as the primary public face of the Trump administration’s immigration operations over the past year, spearheading the military approach to immigration enforcement that has come to characterize the administration’s efforts. His aggressive tactics and handling of operations in Minnesota, Chicago and Los Angeles have drawn criticism from lawmakers and civil rights activists.
Immigration services in Minneapolis and Chicago
Mr. Bovino first gained national attention when he led Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. His high-profile incidents in the nation’s third-largest city include using a Black Hawk helicopter to raid an apartment building. Using chemical irritants on protesters in clear violation of a judge’s order. He was then ordered to appear in federal court and was reprimanded by a federal district judge for the tear gas incident.
Further attention was focused on him after two Americans, Renee Good and Alex Preti, were shot and killed during an immigration check in Minnesota. Mr. Bovino has repeatedly defended the tactics of immigration officials in Minneapolis, arguing that they face angry masses on the streets, which is thwarting immigration enforcement efforts.
Mr. Bovino joined Mr. Noem in determining that Mr. Pretti’s killing was an act of self-defense by a federal officer and said Mr. Pretti intended to harm the officer without providing evidence to support the charge.
In late January, the White House announced that Border Patrol agent Tom Homan would be sent to the state as the Trump administration’s new immigration enforcement officer. Mr. Bovino returned to his previous position as Border Patrol Division Chief in El Centro, California.
Mr. Homan met with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to defuse the confrontational atmosphere. Homan announced in February that hundreds of staff members would be sent home, but said immigration enforcement would continue in the state.
Contributors: Katherine Palmer, Fernando Cervantes Jr., James Powell, Trevor Hughes, Michael Loria, Terry Collins, USA TODAY. Reuters
