U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and an unspecified number of agents are expected to leave Minnesota imminently, federal officials confirmed.
The news coincided with President Donald Trump’s announcement that border czar Tom Homan would be deployed to Minneapolis to oversee immigration enforcement operations in the state.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Bovino on Monday, calling him a “wonderful man” and a “great professional.” She stated, “He is going to very much continue to lead Customs and Border Patrol throughout and across the country.” Leavitt also noted that Mr. Homan would serve as the primary point of contact for ground-level operations in Minneapolis.
It remains unclear how many agents will depart Minnesota or whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel are included in the rotation.
According to federal data, Operation Metro Surge has deployed more than 3,000 immigration enforcement agents across Minnesota, with approximately 2,000 being ICE officers and about 1,000 Border Patrol personnel.
Bovino has urged the public not to “interfere, obstruct, delay or assault law enforcement” during this transition. The White House confirmed that Bovino will retain his national leadership role while federal authorities reorganize immigration enforcement in Minnesota.
A North Carolina native who joined the Border Patrol in 1996 and is nearing the mandatory retirement age of 57, Bovino was relieved of command of the agency’s El Centro, California sector during the Biden administration. Federal officials reported that this change involved an online profile picture of him posing with an M4 assault rifle, social media posts deemed inappropriate, and sworn congressional testimony regarding border conditions during a record migrant surge.
Since then, under President Trump’s second term, Bovino has become a key figure in the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy.
