Greg Bovino labels Minneapolis immigration exit a surrender

Former US border patrol chief Greg Bovino has described the withdrawal of immigration agents from Minneapolis as a surrender by the Trump administration. He made the remarks in an interview with the BBC, speaking from Detroit where he was campaigning for tougher enforcement.

Bovino, who served as the public face of the deportation drive, said the administration threw in the towel. He claimed deportations have since come to a virtual standstill. He expressed regret for not going harder in Minnesota and arresting more illegal aliens. He described his agents as the real victims of what he called the most violence any law enforcement mission had faced in US history.

The 56-year-old was removed from his role shortly after two US citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were shot dead in January. Both incidents were captured on video and triggered a bipartisan backlash and widespread protests. President Donald Trump subsequently said he was going to de-escalate a little bit. About 700 agents left the state, and White House border tsar Tom Homan took over the operation.

Earlier this month, Good's family filed two civil lawsuits against the administration. The suits allege wrongful death and a conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of protesters. One lawsuit names several senior officials, including Bovino and Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot Good. The legal team argues the operation created an unprecedented environment for state-sponsored violence. A White House spokeswoman previously dismissed the lawsuits as baseless.

Responding to Bovino's comments, the family's lawyers accused him of spewing propaganda. They stated he could not be judge, jury and executioner. Their legal team said it looks forward to the depositions of Mr Bovino and all other defendants in the matter.

Pressed on whether video evidence undermined his claim that Good and Pretti meant to harm agents, Bovino disagreed. He stated that violence was perpetrated against agents of the US government. He argued that people need to follow the law, and if they do not, there are consequences. Trump initially described Good as violently, willfully, and viciously running over the ICE officer. Weeks later, he called her death a tragedy and noted that agents are sometimes going to make a mistake.

Bovino said he has not received the final word on why he was removed from his post. Kristi Noem, the Homeland Security secretary during the operation, was fired by Trump in March. Bovino has since retired from the border patrol. He has called for total spectrum immigration enforcement backed by the military and claimed without evidence that 100 million people are in the US illegally.

A White House spokesperson said Trump delivered the largest reduction in illegal immigration in modern history. The official noted that more than 3 million illegal aliens had left the country because of his policies. Bovino also floated exploring a presidential run in 2028, suggesting that something might happen if politicians do not step up. He recently addressed a far-right rally in Michigan where activists called for the deportation of Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.