Greg Bovino, the U.S. Border Patrol commander who became the face of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, said he will retire following a controversial stretch of immigration enforcement operations across multiple U.S. cities.
Bovino made the announcement in an interview with Breitbart, though the Department of Homeland Security said it has not yet received any official retirement paperwork. He had recently been reassigned from his role as U.S. Customs and Border Protection commander at large, Fox News reported.
“The greatest honor of my entire life was to work alongside Border Patrol agents on the border and in the interior of the United States in some of the most challenging conditions the agency has ever faced,” Bovino told Breitbart. “Watching these agents out there giving it their all in some of the most dangerous of environments we have ever faced was humbling.”
DHS pushed back on the announcement, saying the process has not formally begun. “Chief Bovino has not submitted any retirement paperwork,” a department spokesperson said.
Bovino had been removed from his leadership role in January following two deadly incidents during immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. The incidents drew national attention and intensified scrutiny on federal immigration tactics.
Authorities said Renee Good was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent after she drove her vehicle toward him during an operation. Officials said Alex Pretti was fatally shot after approaching agents with a 9mm handgun and resisting efforts to disarm him.
Following his reassignment, Bovino returned to his previous post as Border Patrol sector chief in El Centro, California. His tenure remained a focal point of debate over immigration enforcement policies under President Donald Trump.
Bovino and his team had been deployed to Los Angeles in June 2025, where they arrested individuals described by officials as criminal illegal immigrants. The operations sparked backlash from local leaders, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who publicly confronted Bovino.
The enforcement actions in Los Angeles were followed by similar operations in other cities, culminating in the deployment to Minneapolis. In several instances, civilians were seen following federal agents and attempting to interfere with operations.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sharply criticized Bovino following news of his retirement. “Good riddance. You ruined lives. Spread fear,” Newsom said. “And spewed hatred. If you’re remembered, it will be as the smallest man who ever lived,” he added.
Democrats have repeatedly criticized Bovino and federal immigration authorities, accusing them of carrying out aggressive and indiscriminate enforcement actions. Critics have claimed that some operations targeted individuals without criminal records and, in some cases, U.S. citizens.
Federal officials have defended the operations as necessary to enforce immigration law and remove individuals who pose a threat to public safety. The debate over those tactics has remained central to the broader national conversation on immigration policy.
Multiple reports suggest that former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem may have sealed her fate during a pair of bruising congressional hearings—first over a $200 million immigration ad campaign, and then over pointed questions about her intimate relationship with senior aide Corey Lewandowski.
Jacqui Heinrich said that Trump was angered after Noem told senators that he had approved the costly DHS advertising push encouraging illegal immigrants to self-deport — a claim the White House later contradicted.
“The President said he didn’t know about that ad and did not authorize it,” a White House official told Heinrich. “That might have been the tipping point after weeks of the President facing questions about Noem’s ability to carry out her duties.”
The advertising campaign, estimated at roughly $200–$220 million, featured Noem prominently, including scenes filmed on horseback near Mount Rushmore.  During Senate testimony, Sen. John Kennedy pressed Noem directly.
Kennedy argued the ads were effective for her name recognition and suggested the situation placed Trump in an “awkward spot.”
Trump later told Reuters, “I never knew anything about it,” directly contradicting Noem’s testimony.