Gregory Bovino
Gregory Bovino is a U.S. Border Patrol officer who served as commander-at-large, directing immigration enforcement operations in several U.S. cities. Entries naming him record the conduct of those operations, including the use of force, and sit in enforcement-conduct categories rather than in policy ones.
2026 Events (2)
Border Patrol agents shoot and kill U.S. citizen VA nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis
On January 24, 2026, two federal agents — Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and CBP officer Raymundo Gutierrez — shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen and Department of Veterans Affairs intensive-care nurse, on a Minneapolis street during a federal immigration surge. The Department of Homeland Security said Pretti was armed and "violently resisted," but bystander videos showed him pepper-sprayed and pinned to the ground before the shots, and the Hennepin County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. The two agents were placed on administrative leave and the Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation.
Border Patrol agents choked and dragged Honduran cook from car, knocked him unconscious during St. Paul gas station arrest
On January 11, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents smashed the car window of Orbin Mauricio Henriquez Serrano, a Honduran restaurant cook, at a Speedway gas station in St. Paul, Minnesota, then dragged him from the vehicle, choked him, and knelt on his back while handcuffing him until he lost consciousness. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino, who was directing enforcement activity in the area, watched the arrest. Henriquez Serrano was detained, denied medical care and a lawyer for days, and deported to Honduras before he could meet with the attorney his family had retained.
2025 Events (2)
Border Patrol agent shot Chicago citizen Marimar Martinez five times; DHS's same-day account was contradicted by its own evidence
On October 4, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot Marimar Martinez, a 30-year-old U.S. citizen and Montessori teaching assistant, five times through her car window in Chicago's Brighton Park after she followed agents' vehicle and honked to warn others of their presence. Hours later DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin publicly said agents had been "rammed by vehicles and boxed in by 10 cars" and that Martinez was armed with a "semi-automatic weapon" — claims the next day's criminal complaint, body-camera footage and the agents' own reports did not support. Martinez was charged with assaulting federal officers, the charges were dismissed with prejudice in November 2025, and Exum was placed on paid administrative leave rather than disciplined.
U.S. Border Patrol staged politically motivated show of force at Gov. Newsom's press conference
On August 14, 2025, U.S. Border Patrol agents led by Sector Chief Gregory Bovino massed outside a Los Angeles press conference where Gov. Gavin Newsom was announcing California's response to federal redistricting efforts, deploying agents in tactical gear as the event got underway. A Homeland Security Investigations agent later testified under oath, and texted a colleague, that the operation was purely political and a stunt targeting Newsom rather than genuine immigration enforcement, contradicting DHS's contemporaneous denial that agents were focused on Newsom. Court filings unsealed in July 2026, reported by the Los Angeles Times and confirmed by Gov. Newsom's office, corroborated the political motive behind the operation.