El Centro, California — Gregory Bovino has been removed from his role as U.S. Border Patrol “commander at large” and reassigned to a reduced position in California’s El Centro sector, following mounting criticism over his handling of federal immigration enforcement and public comments tied to a fatal shooting in Minneapolis.
According to Reuters, Bovino was pulled from his nationwide post on January 21 and is expected to return to his former sector, where officials say he is likely to retire soon. The move comes after intense backlash over Bovino’s defense of Border Patrol agents involved in the killing of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen who was shot during a federal enforcement operation in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Bovino drew criticism after publicly accusing Pretti of planning a “massacre,” a claim disputed by video footage that appears to show agents spraying and pinning Pretti before he was shot multiple times. The incident marked the second killing of a U.S. citizen by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis this month, following the January 7 shooting death of Renee Good.
Earlier Monday, the Department of Homeland Security withdrew Bovino and several federal agents from Minneapolis. CNN reported Bovino’s DHS social media access was revoked, while President Donald Trump announced that former ICE director Tom Homan would take over leadership of Minnesota enforcement operations as some officers began departing the state.
The reassignment represents a significant scaling back of Bovino’s authority as scrutiny intensifies around Homeland Security leadership, including Secretary Kristi Noem and DHS adviser Corey Lewandowski. DHS, Customs and Border Protection, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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