Gregory Bovino has been stripped of his status as Border Patrol “commander at large” and will revert to his previous assignment in El Centro, California, where he is anticipated to retire shortly, per a DHS official and two individuals with awareness of the shift.
Bovino’s abrupt reassigning is the most evident indication so far that the Trump administration is re-evaluating its most militant strategies following the death Saturday of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by Border Patrol personnel under Bovino’s leadership.
Previously today, President Trump seemed to indicate in several social-media updates a strategic pivot in the administration’s mass-deportation efforts. Trump stated that he conversed with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz—whom the White House has accused of provoking unrest—and the two leaders are now on “a similar wavelength”. Tom Homan, the ex-ICE director whom Trump has named “border czar,” will travel to Minnesota to take charge of the federal deployment there, Trump noted.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her trusted consultant Corey Lewandowski, who served as Bovino’s primary supporters at DHS, are also in danger of losing their positions, two of the sources mentioned.
Over the last seven months, Bovino has served as the visible figurehead of a mobile immigration sweep targeting cities led by Democrats. Noem and other Trump associates granted Bovino the “commander” designation and dispatched him and his masked agents to Chicago, Charlotte, New Orleans, and eventually Minneapolis. Bovino evolved into a MAGA social-media celebrity as he crossed the nation with his personal camera crew and utilized social media to respond to Democratic lawmakers and various online detractors. Experienced ICE and CBP authorities grew increasingly concerned as Bovino operated outside his agency’s formal hierarchy and seemed to enjoy his position as a political player.
