Gregory Bovino, the Border Patrol commander who has become the de facto face of the controversial crackdown on illegal immigration in Minneapolis, is reportedly being removed from the city today (Tuesday, January 27) following the weekend shooting of 37‑year‑old ICU nurse Alex Pretti.
Tensions have remained dangerously high in Minnesota in recent weeks, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrolling the streets in an effort to detain individuals they suspect of being in the U.S. without proper documentation.
Protests and anger over ICE’s heavy‑handed tactics have led to clashes, resulting in a series of violent incidents, including the shooting of Alex Pretti this past Saturday and the fatal shooting of Renee Good on January 7.
Pretti’s death — a U.S. citizen who was pepper‑sprayed and restrained by Border Patrol agents before being shot multiple times — is the latest in a string of incidents that have drawn global attention. It may prove to be a turning point.
A senior Trump administration official reportedly told Reuters that Greg Bovino, who held the specially created title of “commander at large” of the Border Patrol, has been stripped of the designation and will be leaving Minnesota along with several agents deployed with him.
Bovino has been under intense scrutiny amid the recent controversies, repeatedly defending ICE agents and echoing the Trump administration’s disputed claims about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of both Renee Good and Alex Pretti. “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement,” Bovino said after Pretti’s killing.
Video evidence, however, showed Pretti holding a phone, not a firearm. The 37‑year‑old had also been disarmed before he was shot.
According to The Guardian, Bovino will now return to his previous role as chief patrol agent in California’s El Centro sector along the U.S.–Mexico border.
Yesterday, President Trump announced he was sending his so‑called “border tsar,” Tom Homan, to Minnesota. Homan will oversee operations — known as Operation Metro Surge — and report directly to Trump.
In response to reports about Bovino’s future, the Department of Homeland Security pushed back against claims that he had been demoted.
“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, directing people to earlier comments from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who praised Bovino as a “key part of the president’s team and a great American.”
CNN has reported that DHS has suspended Bovino’s access to his social media accounts.
During a White House press briefing on Monday, Leavitt appeared to soften the administration’s initial stance that portrayed Pretti as a “domestic terrorist,” similar to the narrative used after the death of Renee Good. White House advisor Stephen Miller had labeled Pretti a “would‑be assassin,” though Leavitt called the killing a “tragedy.”
Trump, meanwhile, said yesterday that his administration would be reviewing the shooting.
