{{Short description|United States Border Patrol agent (born 1970)}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use shortened footnotes|date=September 2025}} {{Use American English|date=September 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Gregory Bovino | image = 2026 Gregory Bovino of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations' (ERO) (cropped).jpg | caption = Bovino in 2026 | office = Commander-at-large of US Border Patrol | term_start = October 2025 | term_end = January 2026 | predecessor = | successor = | birth_name = Gregory Kent Bovino | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1970|03|27}} | birth_place = San Bernardino County, California, U.S. | party =
| module = {{Infobox person | child = yes | education = {{Ubl | Western Carolina University (BA) | Appalachian State University (MA) }} | occupation = Law enforcement officer | years_active = 1996{{ndash}}present
| module = {{Listen voice | filename = Minneapolis Operations - January 20, 2026 Press Conference CBP edited 0.webm | name = Gregory Bovino | description = During a Department of Homeland Security press conference | recorded = January 20, 2026 }} }} }}
{{Immigration policy of the second Trump administration sidebar | expanded=leadership}} '''Gregory Kent Bovino''' (born March 27, 1970) is a United States Border Patrol officer who served as the commander-at-large of the Border Patrol from October 2025 to January 2026.
Bovino graduated from Western Carolina University in 1993 and attended Appalachian State University for graduate school. In 1996, he joined the United States Border Patrol and was assigned to El Paso, Texas. By 2008, Bovino had become an assistant chief at the Border Patrol's sector in Yuma, Arizona. That year, he was promoted to patrol agent in charge of the station in Blythe, California. Bovino later became the chief of the sectors in New Orleans and El Centro, California.
In the second presidency of Donald Trump, Bovino became involved in the administration's immigration policy. In June 2025, he was named the tactical commander of a mass raid operation in Los Angeles that led to protests across the city. After the operation concluded, he shifted to Chicago to serve as the commander of Operation Midway Blitz. In the Los Angeles and Chicago operations, Bovino assumed a public-facing role. By October, he was named as a commander-at-large of the Border Patrol.
In December 2025, Bovino began leading Operation Metro Surge, a major immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Following the killing of Alex Pretti in January 2026, Bovino's comments faced criticism from within the Trump administration, and he was removed from leading the operation. ''The Atlantic'' reported that month that Bovino had been removed as commander-at-large of the Border Patrol, which the Department of Homeland Security denied.
==Early life and education== Gregory Kent Bovino<ref name=ensor2026>{{Cite web |last=Ensor |first=Josie |url=https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/gregory-bovino-coat-border-patrol-j29xxmzmj |title=Who is US border chief Gregory Bovino, the 'little Napoleon' with a viral coat? |date=January 27, 2026 |work=The Times |access-date=January 26, 2026 |archive-date=January 27, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260127005045/https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/gregory-bovino-coat-border-patrol-j29xxmzmj |url-status=live }}</ref> was born on March 27,<ref name=bovino_birth>{{Cite document |title=Gregory K Bovino in the California Birth Index, 1905-1995 |publisher=California Birth Index}}</ref> 1970, in San Bernardino County, California.{{r|ensor2026}} Bovino was born to an Italian American family; his great-grandparents emigrated from Calabria to Pennsylvania in 1909, becoming naturalized citizens in 1927.<ref name=Mihalopoulos_FitzPatrick2025>{{Cite news |last1=Mihalopoulos |first1=Dan |last2=FitzPatrick |first2=Lauren |title=Greg Bovino’s the star of Trump’s deportation show. We trace his roots. |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/12/12/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-deportation-elcentro-california-blowing-rock-boone-north-carolina-migrants-immigration |date=December 12, 2025 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |access-date=January 11, 2026 |archive-date=January 8, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260108201013/https://chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdogs/2025/12/12/gregory-bovino-border-patrol-deportation-elcentro-california-blowing-rock-boone-north-carolina-migrants-immigration |url-status=live }}</ref> He has also claimed Cherokee ancestry, but is not a member of any Cherokee tribe.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Katie J. M. |last2=Aleaziz |first2=Hamed |title=Gregory Bovino’s Final Days: Harsh Words and Few Regrets |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/us/gregory-bovino-border-patrol.html |access-date=March 24, 2026 |work=The New York Times |date=March 24, 2026}}</ref> Bovino's parents moved to Blowing Rock, North Carolina, two years after he was born.{{r|ensor2026}} His father, Michael, owned a bar. In 1981, Michael drunkenly crashed his truck into a woman's car, killing her. He pleaded guilty to death by motor vehicle and served four months in prison. Michael was forced to sell the bar, leading to the family's financial struggles, and Bovino's parents divorced three years later.{{r|ensor2026}}{{r|Mihalopoulos_FitzPatrick2025}}
Bovino graduated from Watauga High School in 1988.<ref name=uniform>{{Cite news |title=Unifour in Uniform |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hickory-daily-record-unifour-in-uniform/181888558/ |date=August 10, 1991 |work=Hickory Daily Record |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> He attended Western Carolina University, appearing on the dean's list in 1991.<ref name=deans_list>{{Cite news |title=Area Students Make Dean's List At Western Carolina University |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-asheville-times-area-students-make-d/181888356/ |date=June 22, 1991 |work=Asheville Times |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> That year, Bovino began the Leader Development and Assessment Course at Fort Lewis.{{r|uniform}} He received a bachelor's degree from Western Carolina in 1993<ref name=wcu1993>{{Cite news |title=WCU 1993 graduates named |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/asheville-citizen-times-wcu-1993-graduat/181888889/ |date=May 9, 1993 |work=Asheville Citizen-Times |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> and a master's degree from Appalachian State University in 1996.<ref name=Aleaziz_Jiménez2025>{{Cite web |last1=Aleaziz |first1=Hamed |last2=Jiménez |first2=Jesus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/us/gregory-bovino-immigration-california.html |title=The Border Patrol Chief Leading the California Immigration Crackdown |date=August 29, 2025 |work=The New York Times |access-date=September 27, 2025 |archive-date=September 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250927004509/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/us/gregory-bovino-immigration-california.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Career== ===Early Border Patrol work and sector chiefships (1996–2025)=== After graduating from Appalachian State University in 1996, Bovino joined the Boone Police Department.{{r|Mihalopoulos_FitzPatrick2025}} That year, Bovino, inspired by autobiographies of former agents{{r|Aleaziz_Jiménez2025}} and having watched ''The Border'' (1982) as a child,{{r|ensor2026}} joined the United States Border Patrol as a member of Class 325 at the Border Patrol Academy.{{r|Aleaziz_Jiménez2025}} He was assigned to the Border Patrol's sector in El Paso, Texas, and worked as the acting field operations supervisor in the tactical unit for the city. In 2004, Bovino began working at the sector in Yuma, Arizona. By December 2008, Bovino had become an assistant chief at the Yuma sector's headquarters. That month, he was promoted to the patrol agent in charge of the station in Blythe, California.<ref name=sanchez2008>{{Cite news |last=Sanchez |first=Stephanie |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-times-ex-ep-supervisor-to-head-b/181889593/ |title=Ex-EP supervisor to head Blythe station |date=December 3, 2008 |work=El Paso Times |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> In 2010, Bovino led an operation, intended to last three days, to raid airport and bus stations in Las Vegas; the plan was halted after the first hour amid criticism from Nevada senator Harry Reid.<ref name=spagat2025>{{Cite web |last=Spagat |first=Elliot |url=https://apnews.com/article/bovino-border-patrol-immigration-los-angeles-chicago-03b908a84106fae80a80b2837625eef7 |title=Gregory Bovino, head of Los Angeles campaign, shows how immigration agents rack up arrests |date=September 4, 2025 |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=September 27, 2025 |archive-date=September 24, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250924221721/https://apnews.com/article/bovino-border-patrol-immigration-los-angeles-chicago-03b908a84106fae80a80b2837625eef7 |url-status=live}}</ref>
By August 2019, Bovino had become the chief of the Border Patrol's sector in New Orleans,<ref name=ms13>{{Cite news |title=Suspected MS-13 member arrested during traffic stop |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/american-press-suspected-ms-13-member-ar/181889979/ |date=August 3, 2019 |work=American Press |access-date=September 27, 2025}}</ref> and by March 2021, he had become the chief of the sector in El Centro, California;<ref name=pinho_2021>{{Cite web |last1=Pinho |first1=Faith |last2=Campa |first2=Andrew |last3=Vives |first3=Ruben |last4=Mejia |first4=Brittny |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-03/cause-of-crash-that-killed-13-still-a-mystery-as-is-why-25-people-were-packed-into-suv |title=Two SUVs breached the U.S.-Mexico border. One erupted in fire. The other crashed, killing 13 |date=March 3, 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 27, 2025 |archive-date=September 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250907153725/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2021-03-03/cause-of-crash-that-killed-13-still-a-mystery-as-is-why-25-people-were-packed-into-suv |url-status=live}}</ref> he was relieved of that position in August 2023.{{r|spagat2025}} Near the end of Joe Biden's presidency, Bovino led operations that resulted in dozens of arrests in the Central Valley.<ref name=aleaziz_power2025>{{Cite web |last=Aleaziz |first=Hamed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/politics/border-patrol-immigration-explainer.html |title=What Powers Does the Border Patrol Have Across the Country? |date=October 18, 2025 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=October 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251027231725/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/18/us/politics/border-patrol-immigration-explainer.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The tactics employed by Bovino in Kern County, referred to as Operation Return to Sender, were later ruled illegal by a federal judge.<ref name=mayorquin2026>{{Cite web |last1=Mayorquín |first1=Orlando |last2=Jiménez |first2=Jesus |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/us/border-patrol-tactics-rural-california.html |title=Before Urban Raids, Border Patrol Tested Tactics in California Farm Country |date=January 19, 2026 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 26, 2026}}</ref>
===Initial Trump administration operations (January–October 2025)=== [[File:Anti-ICE protest at the Broadview USCIS Processing Center 9 19 2025 20250919 4232 (54800155083).jpg|thumb|right|Bovino outside the Broadview ICE Facility in September 2025]] In Donald Trump's second presidency, Bovino led the implementation of the administration's immigration policy in California. In June, he was named the tactical commander of a mass raid operation in Los Angeles that led to protests across the city.{{r|Aleaziz_Jiménez2025}} In July, acting U.S. attorney Michele Beckwith told Bovino to follow a court order; she was dismissed by Trump.<ref name=knight2025>{{Cite web |last1=Knight |first1=Heather |last2=Aleaziz |first2=Hamed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/us/trump-fires-us-attorney-california-immigration.html |title=Trump Fired a U.S. Attorney Who Insisted on Following a Court Order |date=September 26, 2025 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 28, 2025}}</ref> Bovino told the Associated Press in September that after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 57, he would return to North Carolina to harvest apples.{{r|spagat2025}}
In September, Bovino was reassigned to command Operation Midway Blitz, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Chicago.<ref name=johnson_olander_2025>{{Cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Rebecca |last2=Olander |first2=Olivia |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/09/chicago-immigration-operation-midway-blitz/ |title=Immigration enforcement subdued Tuesday as local officials brace for Trump's 'Operation Midway Blitz' |date=September 9, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=November 7, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251107181132/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/09/chicago-immigration-operation-midway-blitz/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He assumed a high-profile role in the Los Angeles and Chicago campaigns, particularly on social media,<ref name=knight2025 /> leading a man to allegedly solicit Bovino to be killed.<ref name=meisner_rodriguez>{{Cite web |last1=Meisner |first1=Jason |last2=Rodríguez Presa |first2=Laura |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/15/chicago-man-indicted-solicited-murder-border-patrol-bovino/ |title=Chicago man indicted for allegedly soliciting killing of Gregory Bovino, but without contention of gang involvement |date=October 15, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=October 20, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251020102733/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/15/chicago-man-indicted-solicited-murder-border-patrol-bovino/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview with ''The Wall Street Journal'', Bovino compared a border patrol officer to a police officer, saying the latter "deter[s] crime by his presence".<ref name=barrett_hackman_2025>{{Cite web |last1=Barrett |first1=Joe |last2=Hackman |first2=Michelle |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/greg-bovino-border-patrol-chicago-b5583824 |title=The Man Leading Trump's Urban Immigration Crackdown |date=October 11, 2025 |work=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=October 13, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251013020235/https://www.wsj.com/us-news/greg-bovino-border-patrol-chicago-b5583824 |url-status=live}}</ref> The next month, he clashed with protesters in Chicago.<ref name=bosman2025>{{Cite web |last1=Bosman |first1=Julie |last2=McCann |first2=Allison |last3=Lajka |first3=Arijeta |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/us/chicago-immigration-crackdown-videos.html |title=How Trump's Chicago Immigration Crackdown Escalated, in 10 Videos |date=October 12, 2025 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=October 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251027220204/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/12/us/chicago-immigration-crackdown-videos.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In one instance, he was recorded throwing a tear gas canister at a mass of protesters; plaintiffs in a lawsuit alleged that Bovino had violated a court order preventing federal immigration agents from using tear gas.<ref name=bosman_tensions2025>{{Cite web |last=Bosman |first=Julie |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/us/politics/gregory-bovino-chicago-immigration.html |title=Tensions Mount as Agents, Including Gregory Bovino, Clash With Chicagoans |date=October 23, 2025 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=October 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251027220203/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/us/politics/gregory-bovino-chicago-immigration.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The judge who imposed the order, Sara L. Ellis, admonished Bovino<ref name=bosman_admonish2025>{{Cite web |last=Bosman |first=Julie |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/us/chicago-bovino-tear-gas.html |title=Judge Admonishes Border Patrol Leader for Tactics in Chicago |date=October 28, 2025 |work=The New York Times |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251028140823/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/28/us/chicago-bovino-tear-gas.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and ordered him to report on the Border Patrol's use of force daily.<ref name=meisner2025>{{Cite web |last=Meisner |first=Jason |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/28/judge-to-question-bovino-tear-gas/ |title='Not how any of us want to live': Judge orders Border Patrol boss Bovino to court daily to report use of force |date=October 28, 2025 |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-date=October 28, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251028113657/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/28/judge-to-question-bovino-tear-gas/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The order to report was paused by an appeals court.<ref name=garcia2025>{{Cite news |last=Garcia |first=Armando |date=October 29, 2025 |title=Appeals court blocks order requiring CBP's Greg Bovino to meet with judge daily on Chicago immigration crackdown |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/appeals-court-blocks-order-requiring-cbps-greg-bovino/story?id=126996532 |agency=ABC News |language=en |archive-date=October 30, 2025 |access-date=October 30, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251030031147/https://abcnews.go.com/US/appeals-court-blocks-order-requiring-cbps-greg-bovino/story?id=126996532 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Commander-at-Large of the Border Patrol (2025–2026)== ===Tenure=== In October 2025, secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem named Bovino as the "commander-at-large" of the Border Patrol, a rank with no statutory basis, in an op-ed. Bovino operated outside the Border Patrol's command structure, reporting directly to Noem. He was involved in a reorganization effort at ICE along with Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager who has advised Noem.<ref name=ainsley_strickler2025>{{Cite news |last1=Ainsley |first1=Julia |last2=Strickler |first2=Laura |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-plans-install-border-patrol-officials-lead-aggressive-migrant-cr-rcna240102 |title=Trump plans to install Border Patrol officials to lead a more aggressive migrant crackdown |date=October 27, 2025 |work=NBC News |archive-date=October 27, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251027233611/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-plans-install-border-patrol-officials-lead-aggressive-migrant-cr-rcna240102 |url-status=live }}</ref> In a September 2025 email exchange, Bovino stated that in matters of interior immigration enforcement he reported directly to Lewandowski, rather than to Todd Lyons of ICE, writing "Mr. Lyons said he was in charge, and I corrected him saying I report to Corey Lewandowski."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/bovino-frustrated-directive-conduct-targeted-operations-chicago-rcna257069|date=February 2, 2026|author=Ainsley|title=Bovino frustrated by directive to conduct ‘targeted operations’ in Chicago|first=Julia|work=NBC News}}</ref>
In an interview with ''The Wall Street Journal'', Bovino compared a border patrol officer to a police officer, saying the latter "deter[s] crime by his presence".{{r|barrett_hackman_2025}} The next month, Ellis extended her temporary restraining order against ICE's use of tear gas and pepper balls, saying Bovino had lied under oath about threats posed by protesters and reporters.<ref name="fernando_tareen2025">{{Cite news|last1=Fernando|first1=Christine|last2=Tareen|first2=Sophia|date=November 6, 2025|title=Chicago judge says Border Patrol official lied about threats before restricting agents' use force|url=https://apnews.com/article/chicago-illinois-immigration-ice-border-patrol-7bb7d05c90b970226073857d97427c9e|work=AP News|archive-date=November 11, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111214701/https://apnews.com/article/chicago-illinois-immigration-ice-border-patrol-7bb7d05c90b970226073857d97427c9e|url-status=live}}</ref> He appeared amid operations in Charlotte, North Carolina,<ref name="medina_mokam_2025">{{Cite web |last1=Medina |first1=Eduardo |last2=Mokam |first2=Bernard |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/us/us-border-patrol-charlotte-nc-immigration.html |title=U.S. Border Patrol Launches Operation in Charlotte |date=November 15, 2025 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=January 22, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260122092130/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/us/us-border-patrol-charlotte-nc-immigration.html |url-status=live }}</ref> New Orleans, Louisiana,<ref name="medina_et_al2025">{{Cite web |last1=Medina |first1=Eduardo |last2=Aleaziz |first2=Hamed |last3=Sims |first3=Shannon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/us/border-patrol-new-orleans-immigration.html |title=Federal Immigration Agents Arrive in New Orleans |date=December 3, 2025 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=December 4, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251204210245/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/us/border-patrol-new-orleans-immigration.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and Minneapolis, Minnesota, the site of the killing of Renée Good, an American citizen whose death led to protests.<ref name="fuller2026">{{Cite web |last1=Fuller |first1=Thomas |last2=Ulloa |first2=Jazmine |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/ice-videos-minnesota-trump-immigration.html |title='Like a Military Occupation': Clashes Rise With Federal Agents in Minneapolis |date=January 13, 2026 |work=The New York Times |archive-date=January 16, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260116223114/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/ice-videos-minnesota-trump-immigration.html |url-status=live }}</ref> ''The New York Times'' later reported that Bovino had allegedly made derogatory remarks towards Daniel Rosen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, over his Orthodox Jewish faith.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Londoño |first1=Ernesto |last2=Aleaziz |first2=Hamed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/31/us/bovino-jewish-prosecutor-minnesota.html |title=Bovino Is Said to Have Mocked Prosecutor's Jewish Faith on Call With Lawyers |date=January 31, 2026 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 31, 2026}}</ref>
===Removal=== thumb|right|Bovino walks alongside BORTAC officers in Minneapolis in January 2026 Following the killing of Alex Pretti amid protests in Minneapolis in January 2026, Bovino stated that Pretti intended to inflict "maximum damage and massacre law enforcement".<ref name=rogers2026>{{Cite web |last1=Rogers |first1=Katie |last2=Aleaziz |first2=Hamed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/us/trump-administration-minneapolis-shooting.html |title=Trump and Federal Officials Try to Blame Minnesota Authorities and Slain Man |date=January 24, 2026 |author-link1=Katie Rogers (journalist) |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 26, 2026}}</ref> He defended the Border Patrol officer who killed Pretti, claiming that Pretti "approached" agents with a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun and that he "violently resisted" when officers attempted to disarm him. Bystander video contradicted Bovino's statements; in immediate footage that was released, Pretti holds a phone in his hand after an officer shoved a woman and is detained.<ref name=kinnardfingerhut2026>{{Cite web |last1=Kinnard |first1=Meg |last2=Fingerhut |first2=Hannah |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2026/01/26/trump-administration-alex-pretti-their-own-words/6a211668-fae5-11f0-954b-b80c7ed67fc7_story.html |title=In their words: An examination of statements Trump officials made about what led to Pretti’s death |date=January 26, 2026 |work=The Washington Post |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=January 26, 2026}}</ref> On January 26, two days after Pretti's death, the Trump administration moved Bovino out of Minneapolis and transferred responsibility to Tom Homan.<ref name="aleaziz2026">{{Cite web |last=Aleaziz |first=Hamed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/greg-bovino-border-patrol-minneapolis.html |title=Border Patrol Official Gregory Bovino Is Set to Leave Minnesota |date=January 26, 2026 |work=The New York Times }}</ref> Hours later, ''The Atlantic'' reported that Bovino had been dismissed as commander-at-large and would return to El Centro, California;<ref name=Miroff2026>{{Cite web |last=Miroff |first=Nick |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/greg-bovino-demoted-minneapolis-border-patrol/685770/ |title=Greg Bovino Loses His Job |date=January 26, 2026 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=January 26, 2026 |archive-date=January 27, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260127000713/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/greg-bovino-demoted-minneapolis-border-patrol/685770/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ABC News reported that he would be resuming his duties as sector chief.<ref name="barr2026">{{cite news |last1=Barr |first1=Luke |title=Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino returning to position in El Centro: Sources |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/border-patrol-commander-greg-bovino-returning-position-el/story?id=129582658 |website=ABC News |date=January 26, 2026 |quote=Customs and Border Protection commander-at-large Greg Bovino is returning to El Centro, California, to resume his duties as chief of that sector, multiple sources told ABC News." "The position of commander-at-large was a temporary position. |archive-date=January 27, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260127032714/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/border-patrol-commander-greg-bovino-returning-position-el/story?id=129582658 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Department of Homeland Security denied reports that Bovino had been ousted.<ref name="cervantes2026">{{Cite web |last1=Cervantes |first1=Fernando |last2=Powel |first2=James |last3=Hughes |first3=Trevor |last4=Loria |first4=Michael |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/26/who-is-greg-bovino-top-trump-immigration-enforcer-leaves-minneapolis/88371110007/ |title=Who is Greg Bovino? Top Trump immigration enforcer to leave Minneapolis |date=January 26, 2026 |work=USA Today |archive-date=January 27, 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260127055417/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2026/01/26/who-is-greg-bovino-top-trump-immigration-enforcer-leaves-minneapolis/88371110007/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Bovino's access to his social media accounts was revoked by high-ranking officials at the Customs and Border Protection; he regained access after returning to El Centro, according to ''The New York Times''.<ref name="mccreesh2026">{{Cite web |last=McCreesh |first=Shawn |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/us/politics/bovino-minnesota-social-media-trump.html |title=Why Did the Trump Administration Silence Bovino on Social Media? |date=January 27, 2026 |work=The New York Times }}</ref>
==Public image== Bovino's aggressive tactics have drawn controversy.<ref name=nehamas2026>{{Cite web |last1=Nehamas |first1=Nicholas |last2=Aleaziz |first2=Hamed |last3=Kanno-Youngs |first3=Zolan |last4=Berzon |first4=Alexandra |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/us/politics/ice-border-patrol-trust.html |title=A Crisis of Confidence for ICE and Border Patrol as Clashes Escalate |date=January 26, 2026 |author-link3=Zolan Kanno-Youngs |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 26, 2026}}</ref>{{r|aleaziz2026}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons}} *{{C-SPAN|144847}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bovino, Gregory}} Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Italian descent Category:Appalachian State University alumni Category:Law enforcement officials from California Category:Operation Metro Surge Category:People from San Bernardino County, California Category:United States Border Patrol agents Category:Western Carolina University alumni Category:American people who self-identify as being of Cherokee descent