A US border patrol commander known for his rapid “turn and burn” tactics is being pulled out of Minneapolis as outrage over the killing of Alex Pretti by an ICE agent continues.
Nicknamed “Little Napoleon” by his critics, Gregory Bovino has become the face of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown across the US.
But his rise to prominence comes just a couple of years after he was relieved of command of the Border Patrol’s El Centro, California, sector and encouraged to retire.
In Minneapolis he has overseen a surge of ICE (immigration and customs enforcement) activity in the US city that has been the centre of huge controversy following two fatal shootings.
So who is Gregory Bovino? Sky News takes a look.
Refused to retire
“He’s not afraid to push the envelope, very articulate, leads from the front,” his one-time boss Paul Beeson said.
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Back in 2010, Mr Bovino was leading a station in Blythe, California when he suggested raiding the airport and bus stations in Las Vegas.
The operation was supposed to last three days but got called off after the first hour yielded dozens of arrests and unleashed a furious reaction from the local senator.
But despite leading a distinguished career in Border Patrol, he ran into trouble. In August 2023 he was serving as one of 20 regional chiefs across the country when he was relieved of command.
Mr Bovino blamed several perceived transgressions, including an online profile picture of him posing with an M4 assault rifle, social media posts that were considered inappropriate, and sworn congressional testimony that he and other sector chiefs gave on the state of the border.
He said he was asked if he planned to retire, but he refused.
The tough face of Trump’s immigration crackdown
Last year, he became famous for leading immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, which the federal government has called “ground zero for the effects of the border crisis”.
He assumed the title “commander-at-large” for the agency’s immigration enforcement in California.
Mr Bovino’s appearance in person and on social media – often in full tactical gear with assault rifles – appears part of a drive to cultivate a hard enforcement persona.
Highly visible federal crackdowns under his leadership, including operations that sparked mass demonstrations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Charlotte and Minneapolis, have drawn fierce criticism from local officials and civil rights advocates.
When the shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by an ICE agent in Minneapolis was met with fierce outcry, Mr Bovino went on CNN to defend his officers.
He said Mr Pretti “put himself in that situation”.
“The victim? The victims are the Border Patrol agents. I’m not blaming the Border Patrol agents,” he said.
He claimed Mr Pretti had “injected” himself into a law enforcement operation and was “more than likely” to assault officers.
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‘Turn and burn’ tactics
Mr Bovino has also coined a number of slogans to go along with his robust tactics.
“We’re not going to hit one location, we’re going to hit as many as we can,” he said in an interview in California last year.
“We’re going to turn and burn to that next target and the next and the next and the next, and we’re not going to stop. We’re not going to stop until there’s not a problem here.”
“Time on the X” is another one of his favourites, underscoring the use of overwhelming, lightning-quick force.
He wants agents to leave a raid within minutes to avoid potential conflict with demonstrators.
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What’s next for Bovino?
Now, Mr Bovino is among the federal agents being pulled out of Minneapolis, it is being reported.
But it may just be a prelude to dispatching him to another city where President Trump wants to pursue his immigration aims.
