Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino Announces Retirement After Controversial Minnesota Operation
Gregory Bovino, the U.S. Border Patrol commander who was demoted in late January as the public face of a controversial and deadly immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, has announced he will retire at the end of March. Bovino made the announcement in an interview with Breitbart on Monday, weeks after federal immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in separate incidents in January.
Demotion and Transfer Following Fatal Shootings
The Trump administration removed Bovino from his commander-at-large role and sent him back to California after the shooting deaths of 37-year-old Alex Pretti and Renee Good, each of which remain under investigation. He was replaced by border czar Tom Homan. A homeland security spokesperson at the time, Tricia McLaughlin, stated that Bovino had "NOT been relieved of his duties" entirely and remained "a key part of the president's team and a great American." Trump later described Bovino's return to California as "a little bit of a change" but did not elaborate on the reasoning.
Operation Metro Surge and Controversial Comments
Bovino was tapped by the Trump administration to lead its sweeping Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota. He joined the Border Patrol in 1996 and spent most of his career in California's El Centro sector before this assignment. Shortly before Operation Metro Surge, Bovino had led a team of Border Patrol agents in Los Angeles conducting immigration arrests, with agents then deployed to Chicago, Charlotte, and New Orleans, where local residents and leaders protested that enforcement actions were heavy-handed.
It was Bovino's comments after Pretti's death that may have precipitated his transfer out of Minneapolis. He said Pretti, who had been disarmed by agents before they shot him, intended to "massacre law enforcement" without evidence to back up the assertion. He also stated "the suspect put himself in that situation" and that "the victims are the border patrol agents there."
Additional Controversies and Career Background
Furthermore, the New York Times reported earlier in March that Bovino was under investigation after making disparaging remarks about the Jewish faith of Minnesota's top federal prosecutor. Bovino, who was raised in North Carolina's Appalachian region, holds a degree in natural resource conservation and served on foreign Border Patrol assignments in Egypt, Africa, and Honduras.
In 2018, well into his Border Patrol career, an email sent to him by a colleague compared Bovino to a Confederate general, according to multiple reports. The Confederate army was the white supremacist and losing side of the U.S. Civil War in the mid-19th century.
Bovino's Statement on Retirement
In his interview with Breitbart, Bovino said: "The greatest honor of my entire life was to work alongside border patrol agents on the border and in the interior of the United States in some of the most challenging conditions the agency has ever faced." He added that it was "humbling" to have watched "these agents out there giving it their all in some of the most dangerous of environments we have ever faced."
The retirement announcement comes amid ongoing tensions in Minneapolis following the Trump administration's border-czar takeover, which critics say does little to calm the situation, with one observer noting "The agenda is still the same."
