Border Patrol official Bovino who led Minnesota operation to retire
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Gregory Bovino with his security team in Minnesota on Jan. 21. Photo: Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu via Getty Images
Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol official who became the face of the Trump administration's aggressive immigration crackdown, plans to retire at the end of March, he told Breitbart Texas.
Why it matters: Bovino led President Trump's immigration operations in Minnesota but was sidelined after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens. He returned to his prior role in El Centro, Calif.
What they're saying: Bovino told Breitbart that "[w]atching these agents out there giving it their all in some of the most dangerous of environments we have ever faced was humbling."
- Bovino joined the U.S. Border Patrol in 1996 and was appointed as the chief patrol agent of the El Centro Sector of Southern California in 2020.
- CBS News also reported his impending retirement.
- CBP did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment, but a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Bovino "has not submitted any retirement paperwork."
Friction point: Axios previously reported that Trump criticized his officials' public response to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, especially Bovino and outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
- Bovino's confrontational, "turn and burn" style was on display in major cities across the country, where he directed high-profile immigration enforcement operations.
- Earlier this month, Hennepin County, Minnesota, county attorney Mary Moriarty said her office was looking into more than a dozen cases of potentially unlawful behavior by federal agents — including one involving Bovino.
Catch up quick: After Pretti was killed by federal agents, Bovino contended the ICU nurse wanted to "massacre" law enforcement and insisted without evidence that Pretti was "there for a reason."
- Videos of Pretti's final moments painted a different picture than administration officials initially described.
- That set off a blame game within the administration, Axios' Marc Caputo previously reported, with White House officials blaming Customs and Border Patrol.
Go deeper: "It was a mess": Inside Trump's pivot on Minnesota
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from DHS.
