(Washington) He had become the symbol of the particularly aggressive anti-immigration operations ordered by Donald Trump: Greg Bovino, senior border police official, will retire in the coming weeks, he announced Monday to the New York Times.
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If the vast majority of federal immigration agents have carried out their hunt for undocumented immigrants with their faces hidden in recent months, this commander proudly displayed his emaciated face, hair shaved to the side, in front of the media and demonstrators, who denounced the brutality of his methods.
Not hesitating to go into the field to throw a tear gas grenade at protesters himself, Greg Bovino defended the practices of his agents, including after the death of two American citizens shot dead in the Democratic city of Minneapolis.
Greg Bovino was leading an operation on Jan. 7 when an officer fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, in her car. He also strongly supported the federal agents who killed Alex Pretti, a nurse, while he was on the ground.
It was again he who defended the fact that immigration police officers arrested a five-year-old boy while they were trying to arrest his father. “We are experts in managing children,” he did not hesitate to proclaim.
Last year, Greg Bovino had already led several high-profile operations, notably in Los Angeles and Chicago, using what he called the “act and clear” tactic: making rapid arrests then promptly withdrawing before demonstrators arrived.
This descendant of Italian immigrants who grew up in the rural state of North Carolina, fond of controversy, runs an X account which defends the policies of the Republican government and does not hesitate to attack elected Democratic officials who criticize its methods.
But Greg Bovino lost his key role in the federal system in Minneapolis at the end of January after the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti provoked major demonstrations in the Minnesota city and strong emotion across the country.
