In brief
Former U.S. immigration enforcement chief Greg Bovino accused the Trump administration of surrendering in Minneapolis when it withdrew 700 agents after the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens. He dismissed the lawsuit filed by the family of Renee Good, calling the lawsuit “baseless” and praising the officers involved. The incident sparked bipartisan backlash and widespread protests, leading to the removal of Bovino and the takeover by White House “border tsar” Tom Homan. Meanwhile, Bovino remains a vocal hard‑liner, hinting at a 2028 presidential run and rallying support for aggressive deportation policies.
Greg Bovino Profits From "Surrender" Narrative After Minneapolis Raid
Former United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Greg Bovino, the public face of the controversial Minneapolis deportation drive, told the BBC that the withdrawal of 700 agents from the city was a "surrender" by the Trump administration. He added that the move only happened “to de‑escalate a little bit” after bipartisan backlash over the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January.
Bovino, 56, was removed from his role shortly after the incident. He would later characterize the decision to pull the agents as a defeat for law‑enforcement and an admission that the operation was doomed to fail. "The agents in Minneapolis were the real victims of what I call the most violence that any law‑enforcement mission ever in the history of the United States has faced," he said.
He also declined to respond to the lawsuit filed by Good’s family, which named him and other officials for their roles in the operation. "People do lawsuits all the time," he replied to the BBC, while the plaintiffs’ lawyers called his statements “propaganda” and demanded depositions from all defendants.
The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration’s Minneapolis operation created an "unprecedented environment for state‑sponsored violence" and that officials conspired to interfere with the civil rights of protesters. A White House spokesperson has called the suits "baseless" and defended President Trump’s record as the "largest reduction in illegal immigration in modern history," claiming over three million illegal aliens have left the country.
After being forced out, Bovino has retired from ICE but remains a hard‑line voice, alleging that 100 million people live illegally in the United States and calling for "total spectrum immigration enforcement" that would involve military deployment and naval vessels. He has also floated the prospect of a presidential run in 2028.
More recently, Bovino addressed a far‑right rally in Michigan in support of de‑porting U.S. citizen and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El‑Sayed, who would become the first Muslim member of the U.S. Senate if elected. Bovino’s remarks were met with sharp criticism from civil‑rights groups.
