What changed
Greg Bovino, the former US border patrol chief who led the controversial Minneapolis deportation operation, called the withdrawal of about 700 immigration agents a “surrender” by Donald Trump’s administration. He said deportations in the area were now at a “virtual standstill” and said he was not responding to two civil lawsuits filed by Renee Good’s family over her death.
Why it matters
Bovino’s remarks expose a direct split over what the Minneapolis withdrawal meant. Trump had said he would “de-escalate a little bit” after the January shootings of Good and Alex Pretti, while Bovino now says the administration “threw the towel in” and should have arrested more people.
That dispute matters because the operation has changed hands as well as scale. Bovino was removed after the shootings, and border czar Tom Homan took over. Bovino said he still had not received a final explanation for his removal.
The lawsuits add a legal test to the political fight. Good’s family alleges wrongful death and a conspiracy to interfere with protesters’ civil rights. The cases name Bovino and agent Jonathan Ross, who shot Good; the White House has called them baseless. Lawyers for Good’s family said Bovino could not act as “judge, jury and executioner” and said they expected his deposition.
Whether the legal claims succeed, or deportations increase again, remains unsettled. But Bovino’s account makes one thing clear: the Minneapolis operation is still being contested from inside the administration’s own former enforcement leadership, even after the agents have left.
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