Who is Greg Bovino? Top Trump immigration enforcer to leave Minneapolis
- - Who is Greg Bovino? Top Trump immigration enforcer to leave Minneapolis
Fernando Cervantes Jr., James Powel, Trevor Hughes and Michael Loria, USA TODAY January 27, 2026 at 3:18 AM
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Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, a top official in President Donald Trump's nationwide immigration enforcement operations, is leaving Minneapolis amid deadly tensions between federal agents and protesters.
The , New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 26, citing anonymous sources, that Bovino is set to leave the Twin Cities in the wake of the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
Bovino’s departure from Minnesota comes as the White House on Monday announced that border czar Tom Homan is being sent to the state as the Trump administration’s new point person for immigration enforcement operations.
Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Bovino has been removed from his role as Border Patrol "commander at large" and will return to his former job as a chief patrol agent along California's El Centro sector of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied reports, that Bovino was being relieved of his assignment, saying in a statement to USA TODAY: "Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties."
Bovino emerged as a central figure and the public face during immigration operations amid Trump’s immigration enforcement escalation across the United States.
He has spearheaded the Trump administration's militarized approach to immigration enforcement, tussling with protesters and throwing chemical irritants into crowds in Chicago, Charlotte, and New Orleans.
Bovino often defended the approach, even calling his agents the “victims" in the fatal shooting of Pretti on Jan. 24.
"The victims are the Border Patrol agents. I'm not blaming the Border Patrol agents," Bovino said during an appearance on CNN on Jan. 25. "The victims are the Border Patrol agents. The suspect put himself in that situation."
Here is what you about Bovino:
Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
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U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
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1 / 22US Border Patrol Chief Gregory under fire after Minneapolis deaths
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
ICE backlash: President Trump's immigration approval drops to new low, poll finds
'Operation Midway Blitz' Chicago
The North Carolina-raised Border Patrol chief first drew the national spotlight when he led the Trump administration’s Operation Midway Blitz crackdown on Chicago.
Bovino’s high-profile moments in the nation’s third-largest city included staging a raid on an apartment building using a Black Hawk helicopter; using chemical irritants on protesters in apparent violation of a judge’s order; and being ordered to appear in federal court where U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis scolded him for the tear-gassing incident.
Ellis, a federal judge in the Northern District of Illinois, later slammed Bovino’s credibility.
"Defendant Bovino admitted that he lied, he admitted that he lied," said Ellis in court, after reviewing a deposition tape where he was questioned about why he used tear gas on protesters.
Bovino initially defended his action saying he was hit in the head with a rock; under oath, the Border Patrol chief said he was hit with the rock after deploying tear gas.
Ellis further questioned his credibility after he denied tackling protesters despite being shown a video of him taking civilians to the ground.
"I did not tackle him, I placed him under arrest," Bovino said. "The use of force was against me."
Ellis concluded the chief "obviously tackles and attacks" the protester.
An early interest for Border Patrol
Bovino was born in San Bernardino County, California, in 1970 and raised in North Carolina. His sister, Natalie, told British newspaper The Times of London that the young Bovino was inspired to be a part of the Border Patrol after seeing the 1982 movie “The Border” starring Jack Nicholson.
“Greg was so psyched because he loved the toughness and the values of all these old-timers,” she said. “Then he watched it, and the Border Patrol person was a criminal. Greg came home totally pissed about it. Since then, he was like, ‘Dude, I want to do Border Patrol.’”
In 1981, Bovino's father, Mike Bovino, killed Janie Mae Mitchell, 26, when he crashed his truck into her car while he was driving drunk, according to The Chicago Sun Times. Following the crash, Mike Bovino pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of death by motor vehicle, spent four months in prison, and was forced to sell the bar he owned.
According to The Times of London, the financial struggles that came from the sale led to Bovino’s parents' eventual divorce three years later.
Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino looks on at a gas station, as immigration enforcement continues after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent fatally shot Renee Nicole Good on January 7, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S., January 21, 2026.
A city under siege: Why Minneapolis is at the center of so much chaos
The ‘Liberace of the Border Patrol’
Bovino joined the Border Patrol in 1996 and was named chief patrol agent of the El Centro Sector of Southern California in 2020, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In an interview with the same outlet, Jenn Budd, a former Border Patrol senior agent, called Bovino “the Liberace of the Border Patrol” for his flamboyant behavior and usage of camera crews riding along on raids.
Those same performances have been ever-present in Bovino’s recent immigration efforts in cities like Minnesota, Chicago and Los Angeles. Back in November 2025, Bovino sparked outrage in Chicago after posing in front of the city’s iconic Bean sculpture.
"Proud to report there were no illegal aliens in the park this morning. Readers should've BEAN there, ha ha,” Bovino said in a post on X.
Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
" style=padding-bottom:56%>U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
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U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
">U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
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1 / 22US Border Patrol Chief Gregory under fire after Minneapolis deaths
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Commander at Large Gregory Bovino speaks during a news conference at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal on Jan. 25, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn. The news conference comes after 37-year-old legal observer Alex Pretti was fatally shot during a confrontation with federal agents. The Trump administration has sent a reported 3,000 federal agents into the area, with more on the way, as they make a push to arrest undocumented immigrants in the region.
Next man up: Trump to send border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota after Alex Pretti killing
Bovino becomes a face of Trump enforcement
Bovino became the face of immigration enforcement efforts in the wake of Trump's return to the White House.
Online, Bovino often mocked politicians and critics alike, and boasted about his "Mean Green" team, a reference to the Border Patrol uniform color.
Prof. Michael Kagan, who runs 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 worried White House or a sea change in approach to the entire deportation initiative.
Kagan noted that the White House last year had replaced many regional ICE leaders with their Border Patrol counterparts as administration officials sought a harsher approach to deportation efforts. He said Bovino's rise to lead high-profile "surge" operations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans and Minneapolis reflected that desire.
Bovino tangled with a federal judge in Chicago - she ordered him to start wearing a body camera and concluded he lied during sworn testimony - but had won praise from conservatives pleased with his unapologetic approach.
During immigration operations in Minneapolis, Bovino received some international backlash over the brass-buttoned, calf-length olive green coat he has worn on various occasions. Arno Frank, a writer at a German newspaper, Der Spiegel, said that Bovino stood out “from this thuggish mob, just as an elegant SS officer stands out from the rowdy SA mob.”
Kagan said Bovino's move from Minneapolis is hard to put into context yet.
"One scenario is that this is just damage control from the fiasco that has been Minneapolis. It wouldn't be the first time in politics that someone has to be the sacrificial lamb when an administration finds itself in a little bit of trouble, but there may be no actual policy change," Kagan said. "I think we're going to have to watch what happens, not just in Minneapolis but what happens afterward nationwide."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Greg Bovino? Top Trump immigration enforcer leaves Minneapolis
Source: “AOL Breaking”
