Former Border Patrol "commander-at-large" Gregory Bovino is set to retire from federal service at the end of March, just weeks after two U.S. citizens were killed during clashes with ICE agents in Minnesota.
During his time at Border Patrol, Bovino became one of the most visible faces of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, heading controversial operations in Los Angeles and Minneapolis.
Bovino rose to national prominence as the Border Patrol commander tapped to help lead a new phase of immigration enforcement far from the southern border. The Associated Press described him in January as the "go-to architect" of the administration's large-scale crackdowns and the public face of its city-by-city sweeps that resulted in the deaths of two American citizens.
Before arriving in Minnesota in December, Bovino had already led agents in Los Angeles and Chicago, building a reputation as one of the administration's most combative and media-savvy enforcers. That prominence also made him a lightning rod. In Chicago, AP reported that Operation Midway Blitz yielded thousands of arrests and drew outrage over what critics called aggressive tactics, including car chases, the use of chemical munitions, and confrontations in heavily Latino neighborhoods.
Bovino's return to the Chicago area in December 2025 underscored how central he had become to the administration's strategy, even as immigrant advocates and residents accused federal agents of creating fear in their communities. His standing inside the administration began to unravel after the Minneapolis operation.
On January 7, 2026, Minneapolis resident and single mother Renee Nicole Good was shot dead by ICE officers. Video of Good's shooting went viral as the debate raged on whether the shooting was justified. It shows her in a dark red Honda SUV being approached by ICE officers as she is told to get out of her vehicle. The officers walk up to her car and try to open the driver's side door before the woman tries to take off, grazing another officer, who opens fire on the driver.
Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old intensive care nurse and U.S. citizen who was shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents on January 24, during a federal immigration enforcement operation in south Minneapolis. Video of the incident appears to show Pretti standing between an agent and a woman, the agent pushed to the ground before he is pepper-sprayed, wrestled to the ground by six officers, and shot.
The Atlantic then reported on Jan. 26 that he had been removed from his role as Border Patrol "commander at large" and sent back to El Centro, California, where he was expected to retire soon. Monday's retirement reports suggest that return to California was not a temporary reset but the final stage of Bovino's federal career. One report said he is retiring by the end of the month, while another said the move follows his removal from high-profile leadership duties in Minneapolis.
Bovino's retirement follows the departures of Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary and Tricia McLaughlin as the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, signaling a desire by the Trump administration to distance itself from the controversial immigration operations that defined Trump's first year of his second term as president. Noem and McLaughlin were replaced by Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin and Deputy Spokesperson Lauren Bis, respectively.
