He leads Trump's forces in Minneapolis: "I have no bad conscience"
Updated 13.40 | Published 13.25
His agents have been called "Nazis" and "murderers".
But Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino has no plans to leave Minneapolis.
- This mission will continue until there are no more illegal immigrants on the streets, he tells CBS News.
The federal agents of ICE and the US Border Patrol rarely show their faces.
During their hunt for undocumented immigrants in Minneapolis, they storm residential buildings armed and masked, often up to their eyes.
One person has therefore distinguished himself among the nameless agents: Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, 55, who is currently leading ICE operations in the city.
After the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti – the third ICE-linked shooting in the city in less than three weeks – he was quick to defend the shooter.
Despite video footage from the incident appearing to show otherwise, he believes that Pretti, who was lying on the ground at the time of the shooting, was out to harm federal police.
– This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre police officers, he says.
Surrounded an election rally
Gregory Bovino has quickly become a household name in American media. For a long time, he led the work of the Border Patrol at the border in San Diego. In interviews, he has described the police force as his “family”.
– Border Patrol has been my life’s work, I say that with pride, Bovino said in the agency’s own podcast in 2021.
Recently, his mission has grown. Before the operation in Minnesota, Bovino, on behalf of the Trump administration, led immigration raids, together with the immigration agency ICE, in both Chicago and Los Angeles.
In a high-profile incident in August 2025, he brought a dozen armed agents to an election rally with Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
A show of force, according to several Democrats.
– We are here to make Los Angeles a safer place, because we don’t have politicians who can do it. We do it ourselves, Gregory Bovino tells the AP.
Accused of wearing a Nazi uniform
In clips on social media, Bovino is often seen walking among protesters, surrounded by masked and heavily armed police officers, often smiling.
When he appeared on the streets of Minneapolis in a dark green trench coat, several political opponents raised their eyebrows.
– It's like he literally went on eBay and bought SS clothing, says California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Currently, about 69,000 migrants are in custody across the United States after ICE and Border Patrol raids, according to a compilation by NBC News.
In an interview with Fox 11, Gregory Bovino says that those who believe that innocent families are being affected are "ill-informed."
– These individuals come in, they may have a criminal history in their home country.
– I don't have a guilty conscience.
FACTS
US Police Service
US
police organizations are divided so that parts of the police are
controlled at the state level while other police agencies are controlled
at the federal level. The federal police, in turn, fall under two main
state departments – the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS). Among the federal agencies that work with
crime prevention are the following:
FBI: The police agency that investigates, among other things, organized crime, cybercrime and terrorism.
ICE:
Stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and is tasked with
investigating cross-border crime and people suspected of being in the
United States illegally.
Border Patrol: A police force
that falls under the US Customs and Border Protection and is responsible
for protecting the country's borders. Border Patrol officers have
recently come to assist ICE increasingly in their raids, such as in
Minneapolis.
DEA: The federal drug enforcement agency.
Secret Service: Responsible for, among other things, the security of the president.
USCG: The United States Coast Guard.
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