Ex-Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino Criticizes Trump Administration's Immigration Policy

Greg Bovino, who briefly found himself the face of Donald Trump’s illegal immigration crackdown before being dismissed, has attacked the administration over its subsequent handling of the issue.

Bovino, 56, served as commander-at-large of U.S. Border Patrol under former homeland security secretary Kristi Noem last year but was sent back to his native California after the aggressive Operation Metro Surge led to the fatal shooting of two civilians in Minneapolis in January, sparking a public outcry.

He has largely kept a low profile since Trump placed his border czar, Tom Homan, in charge of immigration operations and replaced Noem with ex-Oklahoma senator Markwayne Mullin in April.

However, Bovino resurfaced at the Remigration Summit in Porto, Portugal, Sunday, at which he took the administration to task for “watering down” its approach to mass deportation since the killings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti earlier this year.

Interviewed at the far-right convention, Bovino praised the president but said he needed “better advice,” suggesting that members of his “inner circle... might have other interests.”

He also damned Mullin with faint praise by making fun of his background in plumbing, the secretary having assumed control of the family business before entering conservative politics.

“Mullin’s a great guy, great plumber, no doubt about that; he could probably fix a leaky faucet,” the former official said. “But a hundred million illegal aliens is not a leaky faucet.”

Bovino posted a clip of the exchange on X in which he tagged Trump’s White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles in a comment that read: “Trump’s team says immigration is his top issue according to the polls. Voters trust him on the border more than anyone.

“So why is Susie Wiles pushing to dial it back and water down mass deportations? You don’t win by running away from your strongest issue. Mass deportations are the solution to perpetual victory!”

Bovino has also tagged Wiles in several other posts of late, most of which concern clashes between agents and demonstrators outside of an immigrant detention center in Delaney, New Jersey.

On Thursday, he posted a picture of himself at an airport gesturing towards an imminent flight to Newark and wrote: “Sen. Mullin and the rest of them have been trying to handle these riots and… well, let’s just say it’s not going great.

“For those of you in the comments section, give a vote. Should I just handle this myself ? Those agents’ lives are at stake due to this inaction Susie Wiles.”

In another on Sunday, Bovino wrote: “Day 9 of the riots and people like Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita [Trump’s former campaign manager] are steering the president toward caving to anarchists instead of the strong immigration enforcement voters demanded. This isn’t what America voted for.”

Earlier this month, he also went after Homan, saying that, despite his hard man image, he is delivering only “political theater.”

There is one member of the Trump administration Bovino continues to feel warmly towards, however.

In a post on Friday, he wrote: “Man, oh man, does the public realize Stephen Miller is the backbone of this administration?

“He’s identified, time and again, the net liabilities we’ve been importing. He sees it’s completely unsustainable, yet Democrats don’t care if the country implodes as long as they’re importing voters. And RINOs [Republicans in Name Only] think quick profits are all that matters.

“Why isn’t Susie Wiles letting someone team up with Stephen to execute his brilliance and help save the country?”