Trump and Walz discuss immigration enforcement in Minneapolis
President Donald Trump and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz had a “productive” phone conversation about immigration enforcement in Minneapolis.
Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, President Donald Trump’s top national immigration enforcement official, is leaving Minneapolis amid deadly tensions between federal agents and protesters.
The Associated Press, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported on January 26, citing anonymous sources, that Bovino plans to leave the Twin Cities following the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Preti.
Bovino’s departure from Minnesota comes after the White House announced Monday that Border Patrol agent Tom Homan would be sent to the state as the Trump administration’s new immigration enforcement force.
Bovino will be removed from his role as the Border Patrol’s “general commander” and return to his old job as patrol chief along California’s El Centro area on the U.S.-Mexico border, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin denied reports that Bovino had been relieved of duty, saying in a statement to USA TODAY, “Secretary Gregory Bovino has not been relieved of duty.”
Bovino has emerged as the central figure and public face of President Trump’s immigration operations as immigration enforcement ramps up across the United States.
He spearheaded the Trump administration’s militarized approach to immigration enforcement, scuffling protesters and throwing chemical irritants into crowds in Chicago, Charlotte and New Orleans.
Mr. Bovino has often defended this approach, even calling the deputy a “victim” in the Jan. 24 shooting of Mr. Pretti.
“The victim is a Border Patrol agent. I’m not blaming the Border Patrol agent. The victim is a Border Patrol agent. The suspect put himself in that situation,” Bovino said on CNN on January 25.
Here’s what you need to know about Bovino.
“Operation Midway Blitz” Chicago
The North Carolina-born Border Patrol chief first gained national attention when he led the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz against Chicago.
Bovino’s high-profile incidents in the country’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 U.S. District Judge Sarah L. Ellis for the tear gas incident.
Ellis, a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois, later criticized Bovino’s credibility.
“Bovino admitted he lied, he admitted he lied,” Ellis said in court, after reviewing a tape of a deposition in which he was questioned about why he used tear gas on demonstrators.
Bovino initially defended his actions, saying he was hit in the head with a rock. The Border Patrol chief said under oath that he was hit by a rock after using tear gas.
Ellis further questioned his credibility as he denied attacking protesters despite being shown videos of him taking civilians to the ground.
“I didn’t tackle him, I arrested him,” Bovino said. “The use of force was against me.”
Ellis concluded that the chief “clearly tackled and assaulted” the protesters.
Early interest in Border Patrol
Bovino was born in San Bernardino County, California in 1970 and raised in North Carolina. Bovino’s sister Natalie told the London Times that Bovino was inspired to join the Border Force after watching the 1982 film The Border, starring Jack Nicholson.
“Greg was really excited because he loved the toughness and values of the old-school guys,” she said. “Then he saw it and Border Patrol agents were criminals. Greg went home completely pissed off about that. From then on, he was like, ‘Hey, I want to play Border Patrol.’
In 1981, Bovino’s father, Mike Bovino, crashed his truck while driving drunk, killing 26-year-old Janie Mae Mitchell, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. After the accident, Mike Bovino pleaded guilty to misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, served four months in prison, and was forced to sell the bar he owned.
Bovino’s parents ultimately divorced three years later due to the financial difficulties of the sale, according to the Times of London.
“Border Guard Liberace”
Bovino joined the Border Patrol in 1996 and was appointed chief patrol officer for Southern California’s El Centro area in 2020, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In an interview with the same outlet, Jen Budd, a former senior Border Patrol agent, called Bovino’s flamboyant behavior and use of photographers accompanying him on raids the “Liberace of the Border Patrol.”
Similar performances have been a constant in Bovino’s recent immigrant work in cities such as Minnesota, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Back in November 2025, Bovino sparked outrage in Chicago by posing in front of the city’s iconic Bean sculpture.
“I’m proud to report that there were no illegal aliens in the park this morning. Readers should have been there, haha,” Bovino said in a post to X.
Bovino becomes the face of Trump’s execution
Bovino became the face of immigration enforcement following Trump’s return to the White House.
Mr. Bovino often mocked politicians and commentators alike online, boasting about his “Mean Green” team, named after the color of Border Patrol uniforms.
Michael Kagan, a professor who heads the immigration clinic at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law school, said it’s not yet clear whether Bovino’s departure from Minneapolis represents damage control by a concerned White House or a major change in its approach to the deportation program overall.
Kagan noted that the White House replaced many of the region’s ICE leaders with Border Patrol leaders last year as administration officials called for tougher action on deportations. He said Bovino’s rise to lead the high-profile Surge operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans and Minneapolis reflects that desire.
Mr. Bovino tangled with a federal judge in Chicago who ordered him to start wearing a body camera and concluded that he lied during sworn testimony — but his unapologetic demeanor drew praise from conservatives pleased with him.
Bovino received international backlash over a calf-length olive green coat with brass buttons that he wore on various occasions during immigration inspections in Minneapolis. Arno Frank, a reporter for the German newspaper Der Spiegel, said that Bovino “stands out from this vicious mob in the same way that an elegant SS officer stands out from a rowdy SA mob.”
Kagan said it’s still difficult to put Bovino’s transfer from Minneapolis into context.
“One scenario is that this is just damage control from the debacle that happened in Minneapolis. It’s not the first time in politics that someone has to be the sacrificial lamb when the administration finds itself in a bit of a bind, but there may not be any real policy change,” Kagan said. “I think we’ll have to wait and see what happens, not just in Minneapolis, but then across the country.”
