Border Patrol's Gregory Bovino Retires After 30 Years

Gregory Bovino, a longtime U.S. Border Patrol official who led aggressive immigration enforcement operations under President Donald Trump's second term, announced his retirement this week after nearly 30 years with the agency. His departure, effective at the end of March, follows a series of controversies, including the fatal shootings of two American citizens during a federal operation in Minneapolis in January.

Bovino, 58, joined the Border Patrol in the mid-1990s and spent much of his career in California's El Centro sector. In 2024, the Trump administration elevated him to an unusual "commander at large" position, allowing him to report directly to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and oversee nationwide enforcement efforts. He coordinated sweeps in Democratic-led cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans and Minneapolis as part of what officials described as a surge to address unlawful border crossings and interior immigration violations.

During an interview with reporters this week, Bovino expressed few regrets about his tenure. "I wish I'd caught even more illegal aliens," he said. "We went as hard as we could, but there's always a creative and...