CBP Commander Gregory Bovino Demoted After Outcry Over Pretti Killing

Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, who has overseen the Trump administration’s violent immigration crackdown in Minnesota’s Twin Cities, known as “Operation Metro Surge,” is reportedly being demoted to his old position in California.

Bovino’s departure comes as reports indicate that President Donald Trump is deeply upset with how Americans have reacted to the operation, especially in the wake of the killing of Veterans Affairs ICU nurse Alex Pretti, who was shot multiple times by Customs and Border Protection agents as he attempted to help a woman who agents had shoved to the ground. Video of the incident, which has been viewed millions of times, shows Pretti being held down by those agents and shot at point-blank range. The agents denied Pretti medical care for several minutes after shooting him.

Several administration officials, including Bovino, have attempted to justify the killing by citing the fact that Pretti was carrying a firearm. Videos of the incident, however, show that Pretti never reached for his weapon, and that he was shot after agents appeared to remove it from his person. Pretti had a concealed carry permit, which, by Minnesota law, meant he was legally allowed to carry the weapon in public spaces, including at protests.

Despite these facts, Bovino — who is often clad in attire that critics say takes on a Nazi-esque aesthetic — told interviewers that Pretti had been at protests in Minneapolis with the intent to “massacre law enforcement.”

“The victims are the border patrol agents there,” Bovino insisted.

Shortly after the killing, Trump echoed that sentiment, posting an image of Pretti’s gun on Truth Social on Saturday and implying it was Pretti’s own fault that he was killed.

“This is the gunman’s gun, loaded (with two additional full magazines!), and ready to go – What is that all about?” Trump wrote.

But as public outrage over the killing mounted, Trump — who called for a “reckoning and retribution” against Minnesota earlier this month — shifted his tone on the issue. In a Wall Street Journal interview on Sunday, the president twice refused to say that the shooting was “the right thing” for agents to do.

“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump said.

Recent polling has indeed demonstrated that most Americans are upset with recent events. Support for abolishing some DHS agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has reached its highest numbers ever, and a YouGov poll conducted over the weekend finds that, among those who saw video of Pretti’s killing, 63 percent of Americans said it was unjustifiable.

Trump’s pivot also comes as Democrats have threatened to shut down the government over funding for DHS in the wake of immigration agents killing Pretti and Nicole Renee Good in Minneapolis this month.

“It’s f–ked, and POTUS knew he needed to unf–k it,” an adviser within the administration told Axios, explaining Trump’s change in demeanor.

Bovino’s departure could come as soon as Tuesday. After he returns to his old post, he’s expected to retire altogether shortly after, The Atlantic reported.

That publication, citing sources with knowledge of the situation, also noted that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who has peddled the same falsehoods about Pretti (including baselessly describing him as a “domestic terrorist”), is also at risk of losing her job. She is meeting with the president on Tuesday.

In addition to Bovino’s demotion, Trump has signaled some willingness to work with Democratic lawmakers, announcing on Truth Social that he has been in conversations with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz about the immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. Per Trump, the two now appear to be on “a similar wavelength.”

Walz has confirmed that Trump has been more open to listening to him, noting in his own statement that the president has “agreed to look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota.”

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan will be replacing Bovino in overseeing Operation Metro Surge. Homan was an architect of the family separation policy under the first Trump administration, Mother Jones’s Russ Choma has pointed out. Under that policy, more than 5,500 children were separated from their parents at the U.S.’s southern border.

“[Homan is] known for fiery attacks and for firmly backing his boss,” Choma wrote, adding that he will be reporting directly to Trump as he leads the immigration raids in Minnesota.

Local voices are also skeptical of Homan’s appointment.

“They’re losing this narrative battle, and so he’s sending in his top guard,” Minneapolis City Councilor Soren Stevenson told CNN about Homan’s new role. “And really, it’s escalating, because we just want to be left alone. The chaos in our community is coming from ICE. It’s coming from this invasion that we’re under … and it’s got to stop.”