Trump strikes conciliatory tone with Minnesota governor Tim Walz after pair speak last night as Bovino is reportedly stripped of ‘commander at large’ title
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Gregory Bovino, the commander of the Border Patrol, is expected to leave Minneapolis today following the weekend killing of Alex Pretti, the second civilian to be fatally gunned down in the streets by federal immigration agents this month.
Bovino, an aggressive promoter of Donald Trump’s deportation agenda, has become the public face of the administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota – and a lightning rod for criticism from Democrats and civil liberties activists.
An unnamed source told Reuters that Bovino had been stripped of his specially created title of “commander at large” of the Border Patrol, but the Department of Homeland Security has pushed back on the demotion reports. “Chief Gregory Bovino has NOT been relieved of his duties,” the DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, pointing to earlier comments from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, praising Bovino as a “key part of the president’s team and a great American”.
