Bovino to Retire From Border Patrol

Sources say that controversial former U.S. Border Patrol head Gregory Bovino will soon retire. Bovino, once the face of the Trump administrations immigration crackdown, got caught up in the tragic events in Minnesota. Those events led to the ouster of Kristi Noem as DHS secretary, and now NBC and other outlets are reporting that Bovino will l retire at the end of the month.

Bovino was removed from his role as CBP commander at large in January and returned to his role as Border Patrol sector chief in El Centro, California. The move came after the deaths of two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and aggressive immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, Chicago and Los Angeles.

His exit coincides with the date Trump announced would be Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s last day in the job. In Bovino’s position as commander, he reported directly to Noem and her senior adviser Corey Lewandowski.

Bovino was also eligible for retirement and one year away from the mandatory retirement age in CBP of 57.

An email obtained by NBC News showed Bovino was frustrated in Chicago in the fall when he was told to conduct “targeted” arrests rather than “full scale immigration enforcement.”

CBS News was first to report on his plans to retire.

Bovino and other CBP agents were removed from Minneapolis, where he had been overseeing Operation Metro Surge, in January.

As the face of President Trumps hardline on immigration, he was featured in Hollywood-style movie posters and video mashups. But his star began to fade as his tactics, including throwing gas canisters into crowds of protesters, led to a lawsuit in Chicago and clashes with other administration officials.

Meanwhile, DHS reported that over the weekend of March 14, ICE officers throughout the country arrested criminal illegal aliens convicted of horrific crimes including murder, rape, and cruelty toward a child.

“While Americans were enjoying their weekends, the brave men and women of ICE were arresting criminal illegal alien murderers, rapists, child abusers, and other scumbags,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “Instead of thanking ICE officers for their heroism, sanctuary politicians continue to peddle false narratives in order to demonize our brave law enforcement. Even while facing a 1,300% increase in assaults and a more than 8,000% increase in death threats, ICE will not back down until America is safe again.”