Former Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino told Newsmax Friday that U.S. immigration enforcement efforts should have been intensified sooner, saying additional federal resources could have been deployed more quickly during large-scale deportation operations.
Bovino, who previously served as a "commander at large" overseeing multicity immigration enforcement efforts, reflected on his tenure amid renewed national debate over border security and deportation policy, a central issue during President Donald Trump's administration and ongoing political battles in Congress.
Speaking on "Bianca Across the Nation," Bovino defended the execution of mass deportation operations across several major U.S. cities, saying he should have accelerated the deployment of additional personnel.
"If I had something to do different, I would have brought on this follow-on forces even quicker," Bovino said.
"That was one of the plans and one of the strategies we had post Minnesota was to bring massive forces into the fight and really take it to the illegal aliens, the transnational criminal organizations in earnest," he added.
Bovino's comments come as immigration remains a dominant national issue, with federal agencies continuing to face pressure to respond to record migrant encounters in recent years and ongoing calls for stricter enforcement measures.
During his tenure, Bovino said he was tasked with launching and executing mass deportation operations in multiple cities, working alongside Border Patrol agents, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and other law enforcement partners.
"We carried out those mass deportation orders," Bovino said, describing operations that spanned "six different cities across the United States for almost a year."
He emphasized that those actions were conducted in alignment with administration directives.
"I was in lockstep with my superior there, [former DHS Secretary] Kristi Noem … and then also President Trump," Bovino said, adding that immigration enforcement was a defining issue for voters.
Bovino also pointed to what he described as measurable impacts of the operations, including reductions in crime and improvements in daily life in affected areas.
"Tens of thousands of deportations by the Border Patrol and ICE agents … just as directed and just as ordered," he said.
Still, he said the effort faced significant resistance, including organized protests in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, which he characterized as coordinated opposition to federal enforcement.
The situation in Minnesota, he said, marked a turning point due to timing challenges that complicated enforcement efforts.
"We got to Minnesota a bit late, and a lot of those operations were already established," Bovino said.
He contrasted that with earlier deployments, where he said federal agents were better prepared to handle unrest from the outset.
"When we hit a city … we have a plan in place … to take care of those anarchists and rioters generally from day one," Bovino said.
Looking back, Bovino said a more aggressive approach earlier in the process could have amplified results.
"You haven't seen anything yet, and I wish I had done that sooner," he said.
"I would have went harder sooner with a lot more individuals in the fight taking it to the bad guys," Bovino added.
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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