Bovino: 700 Agents Left Minnesota, Ending Deportations

Greg Bovino told the BBC that the Trump administration surrendered in Minneapolis by pulling approximately 700 immigration agents out of Minnesota. The former border patrol chief, who became the public face of the deportation drive, said the withdrawal has left deportations at a virtual standstill. He made these remarks during a campaign stop in Detroit.

Bovino defended the initial operation while criticizing the subsequent pullout. He stated that the administration threw the towel in and that he regretted not going harder by arresting more individuals. He described his agents as the real victims of what he called the most violence any law enforcement mission has faced in US history.

The former chief was removed from his role in January, shortly after two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot dead in the city. Both shootings were captured on video, leading to widespread protests and a bipartisan backlash. President Donald Trump responded by saying he was going to de-escalate a little bit. Tom Homan, the White House border tsar, took over the operation after the agents left.

Good's family filed two civil lawsuits against the administration earlier this month. The suits allege wrongful death and a conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of protesters. One lawsuit names Bovino and Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot Good, for their individual roles in the operation. The complaint argues the operation created an unprecedented environment for state-sponsored violence.

A White House spokeswoman previously called the lawsuits baseless. In response to Bovino's recent comments, the family's lawyers said he was spewing propaganda and could not be judge, jury and executioner. They added that their legal team looks forward to the depositions of Bovino and all other defendants in the matter.

Pressed by the BBC on whether video evidence undermined his claim that Good and Pretti meant to harm agents, Bovino disagreed. The evidence is that violence was perpetrated against agents of the US government, and this is a society of laws and people need to follow the law, he said. He noted that if people do not follow the law, there are consequences.

Trump initially described Good as violently, willfully and viciously running over the ICE officer. Weeks later, the president called her death a tragedy and said agents were sometimes going to make a mistake. Bovino said he has not received the final word on why he was removed. Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary during the operation, was fired by Trump in March.

Bovino has since retired from the border patrol and has called for total spectrum immigration enforcement backed by the military. He 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, citing more than 3 million departures.

The former chief also suggested he is exploring a presidential run in 2028. If politicians aren't going to step up and do their job then you might see something happen, he said. He recently addressed a far-right rally in Michigan where activists called for the deportation of Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic Senate candidate.