Camilla Jessen
Gregory Bovino removed from Minnesota after ICE shooting.
Minnesota has seen sustained unrest as Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers intensified operations aimed at detaining people suspected of being in the United States without legal status.
Clashes between protesters and agents have led to multiple violent incidents, including the fatal shooting of Renée Good on January 7 and the death of Alex Pretti, 37, on Saturday.
Pretti, a U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, was pepper-sprayed and restrained by Border Patrol agents before being shot multiple times.
Bovino under scrutiny
Gregory Bovino, who held the specially created title of “commander at large” for the Border Patrol, has been a central figure in defending the actions of federal agents.
After Pretti’s death, Bovino said: “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”
Video evidence later showed Pretti holding a phone, not a weapon. Reports also state he had been disarmed before being shot.
A senior Trump administration official told Reuters that Bovino has been stripped of his “commander at large” title and will leave Minnesota, along with some of the agents deployed under him.
According to The Guardian, Bovino will return to his previous post as chief patrol agent in California’s El Centro sector along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The move follows mounting criticism of federal tactics in Minnesota and increased pressure on the administration to respond.
Administration response
The Department of Homeland Security rejected claims that Bovino had been demoted.
“Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, pointing to comments by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who described Bovino as a “key part of the president’s team and a great American.”
CNN reported that Bovino’s access to his social media accounts has been suspended.
On Monday, President Donald Trump announced that his administration would review the shooting of Pretti.
During a White House briefing, Leavitt referred to the killing as a “tragedy,” stepping back from earlier claims by administration officials who had described Pretti as a “domestic terrorist” or “would-be assassin.”
Trump also confirmed he is sending his so-called “border tsar,” Tom Homan, to Minnesota to oversee ongoing operations and report directly to him.
Sources: Reuters, The Guardian, CNN
