U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino and a number of agents are expected to leave Minnesota imminently.

Multiple federal sources confirmed that Commander Gregory Bovino and some, but not all, Border Patrol agents will be departing the state by Tuesday.

The announcement coincided with President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy border czar Tom Homan to lead operations in Minneapolis.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Bovino on Monday, calling him “a wonderful man and a great professional.” She stated that Bovino will continue to lead Customs and Border Patrol nationwide, while Mr. Homan would serve as the primary point of contact for immigration enforcement efforts on the ground in Minneapolis.

The exact number of agents leaving Minnesota and whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel are included remains unclear.

Current operations in Minnesota, known as Operation Metro Surge, deploy over 3,000 federal agents for immigration enforcement, with approximately 2,000 being ICE agents and 1,000 Border Patrol agents.

Bovino urged the public to avoid interfering with, obstructing, delaying or assaulting law enforcement personnel.

Federal authorities have stated that Bovino will retain his national leadership role despite the reorganization of immigration enforcement in Minnesota.

A North Carolina native who joined the Border Patrol in 1996 and is nearing the agency’s mandatory retirement age of 57, Bovino was relieved of command of the El Centro, California sector during the Biden administration. The specific reasons for this action reportedly included an online profile picture of him posing with an M4 assault rifle, social media posts deemed inappropriate, and sworn congressional testimony regarding border conditions during a record migrant surge.

Under President Trump’s second term, Bovino has become prominent as part of the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy.