Who is Greg Bovino, who has become the image of Donald Trump's fight against migrants. Wears a controversial cloak and prefers turn and burn tactics

Greg Bovino, the head of the US border police who walks without covering his face like the agents of the anti-immigration police ICE, has become the figure of Donald Trump's fierce fight against immigrants, notes France Presse.

The type who doesn't hesitate to jump into action and throw a tear gas grenade at protesters with his own hands, Greg Bovino continues to say that the methods used, even after two US citizens were shot by federal agents in the city of Minneapolis.

Although several videos showed police officers shooting Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, while he was on the ground, Greg Bovino argued that the real victims were federal agents.

It turns Trump's aggressive rhetoric into reality

“The fact that (agents) are very well trained prevented him from shooting at law enforcement, so kudos to our law enforcement for neutralizing him before he could do that,” Greg Bovino said Sunday on CNN.

Alex Pretti was carrying a gun in his belt, which is legal in Minnesota if you have a permit, but no video footage shows him with a gun in his hand.

According to Greg Bovino, Alex Pretti “walked into the scene of a crime”: “I can never repeat this enough: he made the decision to go there.”

As the Trump administration seeks to deport millions of illegal immigrants, Greg Bovino is the right man for the job, according to Cesar Garcia Hernandez, a professor of immigration law at Ohio State University.

“He is turning the aggressive rhetoric of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Trump and other senior officials into an operational reality,” Garcia Hernandez told AFP.

He does not hesitate to take action against the protesters: “Gas, gas, gas!”

Over the past year, Greg Bovino, 55, has led several highly publicized anti-immigration operations, particularly in Los Angeles and Chicago, using what he calls the “Turn and Burn” tactic, which involves moving in quickly to make arrests before retreating just as quickly before protesters arrive.

Bovino was leading an operation in Minneapolis when, on January 7, an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, in her car, leading to massive demonstrations in the city.

He also defended the fact that his agents arrested a five-year-old boy last week. “We're experts at handling children,” Bovino declared without hesitation.

Footage emerged last week of him throwing a tear gas grenade at a group of protesters in Minneapolis.

“I'm going to throw the gas. Back off. Gas, gas, gas!”, he is heard shouting before throwing the grenade at the protesters.

Greg Bovino of the US Border Patrol, who led the administration's big-city immigration push, was seen on video warning protesters “Gas is coming!” before tossing a green-smoke canister in Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/UtNkMNR09s

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2026

Unlike many of his agents who wear balaclava during operations, Greg Bovino, a descendant of Italian immigrants who grew up in rural North Carolina, likes the limelight and controversy.

When not in combat gear, he likes to walk around in a long green coat with wide lapels, popular during World War I and World War II, leading some critics to draw unflattering comparisons.

“Greg Bovino literally dressed like he bought an SS uniform off eBay,” Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, said last week.

Bovino countered that this coat is a standard Border Patrol uniform, which he has had for over 25 years.

“They're trying to paint the Border Patrol and ICE agents as Gestapo, Nazis and many other adjectives,” he charged on CNN, arguing that Pretti may have been influenced by such statements.