SHELBY TOWNSHIP, MICH. — Former Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino may be retired, but he remains laser-focused on the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.
At the Deportation Celebration on Saturday night in Macomb County, Michigan, a political bellwether, Bovino characterized illegal immigration as "the greatest threat" that America has ever faced.
'If we can get this 100 million out, I want to be back in on it.'
"When somebody crosses the border illegally, they're not crossing it just to stay right there at the border," he explained to James Dickson of Michigan Enjoyer. "They're coming in ... to do something wrong: smuggle drugs, human trafficking. Some try to find work. Some use our social services."
Bovino assured the crowd that President Donald Trump is the "best" president he has ever worked for and that transitioning from President Joe Biden to Trump in January 2025 was like flipping a "light switch" on border enforcement.
However, Bovino indicated that Trump has gone soft on the issue in recent months, due in part to "poor information" from people who are "not border security professionals." Bovino even claimed that he has been accused of "letting Trump off the hook" regarding mass deportations, though he remains optimistic that Trump may soon make it a major priority again.
"I'm hearing rumblings, folks, that maybe he is starting to wake up a little," Bovino added.
Blaze News
In response to a request for comment on some of Bovino's remarks, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Blaze News:
President Trump stopped the invasion of our country. There has never been a president who has been stronger on border security and immigration enforcement. Thanks to President Trump’s strong immigration enforcement policies, approximately three million illegals have left the United States and zero illegals have been released at the border in 17 months.
Bovino, 56, retired from the Border Patrol after immigration agents fatally shot two agitators in Minnesota back in January. And though he is less than a year away from the mandatory age of retirement at the agency anyway, Bovino suggested he may yet stage a comeback.
"You can get a waiver, even a fossil like me can get a waiver. So I was planning on lobbying the big man hard for a waiver," he claimed, presumably referring to Trump.
Bovino added that he wants to return to the scene so he can help show 100 million illegal aliens the door. "If we can get this 100 million out, I want to be back in on it," he said.
When Dickson pressed him on whether returning is a realistic option, Bovino replied, "Oh, absolutely. ... It just depends on how serious our politicians are going to go on immigration. If you really want to go serious, then it's definitely possible."
In the event a return to federal immigration enforcement does not work out, Bovino confirmed to Blaze News that he may take a different approach and run for political office instead.
"I will run for something if they don’t start mass deportations! That’s the single focus and should be the single focus!" Bovino wrote in a message Monday.
"POTUS or bust," he added in a follow-up message. The "Senate isn’t quick enough for what [the] country needs."
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