Former Border Chief Calls Minneapolis Exit a Surrender

Former US Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino described the recent removal of immigration agents from Minneapolis as a surrender by the Trump administration. Speaking in Detroit, Bovino said the government threw the towel in, leaving deportations at a virtual standstill. He expressed regret for not arresting more people during the operation, calling his officers the real victims of the mission.

The withdrawal involved roughly 700 agents leaving the state. This pullout followed the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two US citizens shot and killed in January. Video of the incidents sparked bipartisan backlash and protests. President Trump subsequently stated he would de-escalate the situation, and Tom Homan, the White House border tsar, took over the operation.

Good's family filed two civil lawsuits against the administration earlier this month. The suits allege wrongful death and conspiracy to interfere with civil rights. They name Bovino and Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot Good, for their individual roles in the operation. The family argues the campaign created an environment for state-sponsored violence. A White House spokeswoman previously dismissed the legal action as baseless.

In response to Bovino's comments, the family's lawyers said he was spewing propaganda and could not act as judge, jury, and executioner. They stated their team looks forward to deposing Bovino and other defendants. Bovino told the BBC he was not responding to the lawsuits, noting that people file them all the time. He defended the officers sent to Minneapolis, claiming the video evidence supported his view that Good and Pretti intended to harm agents.

Bovino, 56, was removed from his post shortly after the January shootings. He has since retired from the Border Patrol. When asked why he was let go, he said he had not received the final word from the administration. Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security Secretary during the operation, was fired by Trump in March. Bovino has since advocated for total spectrum immigration enforcement backed by the military.

He has claimed without evidence that 100 million people are in the US illegally. A White House spokesperson countered that Trump delivered the largest reduction in illegal immigration in modern history, with more than 3 million people leaving the country due to his policies. Bovino also floated the possibility of a 2028 presidential run, suggesting he might step in if politicians fail to do their job. He recently addressed a far-right rally in Michigan where activists called for the deportation of Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.