Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino warned Friday morning on Newsmax that immigration teams are facing ongoing street violence in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as they try to enforce immigration law, and he blamed liberal politicians and activists for fanning the flames.
Speaking from the city, Bovino said agents are seeing protests turn into attacks that make enforcement more dangerous.
"On the ground here in Minneapolis, we see a lot of violence by some of those agitators, some of those rioters," he said, adding that "heated rhetoric by many of those elected officials contributes to that violence and that mayhem."
He believes there's "a direct causation and attribution to the violence on the ground," telling "Wake Up America" that "oftentimes, we'll hear one of those representatives talk on TV, and just a few hours later, the violence starts."
Bovino framed it as a choice between public safety and political theater, insisting, "We're here to do this Title 8 mission, and that's what we want to do."
He said agents want "to take those bad people, bad things off the streets … the murderers, the rapists, the people that should not be here," and he said many targets of enforcement action are migrants who "came in over the past four years."
"When we're not allowed to do that or we're prevented from doing that," said Bovino, "that's where the problems occur," arguing that the pushback he's hearing from "representatives and influencers" can translate into chaos on the ground.
Bovino said cooperation matters, noting that in some places officers have worked "hand in hand" with local partners, and violence dropped sharply, which he called proof "there is a solution here."
He questioned motives behind the backlash, asking whether "those individuals, those influencers, those politicians … want that solution, or do they want that violence?"
Bovino emphasized that immigration enforcement is long-standing, saying Border Patrol has done it "for 101 years" and that interior operations have run "for decades," adding, "We've got this down pat."
He urged critics to "let us do our job" and warned that "unless they dial down that rhetoric, there's going to be bloodshed," calling the violent clashes that have already occurred "another one of those 'I told you so' moments."
Despite the unrest, Bovino said "the morale is extremely high right now" among immigration enforcement agents because they believe the mission is "legal, ethical, and moral" and focused on criminals who threaten "mom-and-pop America."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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