Watch: Four Shocking Months With Gregory Bovino

The Border Patrol “commander at large” leaves behind a legacy of fear and violence.

Gregory Bovino points. He and his entourage of federal agents are wearing helmets.

Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino in Broadview, Illinois, October 3, 2025Amanda Moore

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

You have “nothing to fear if you’re an American citizen. If you’re not an American citizen, then look out.”

That’s what Border Patrol “Commander at Large” Gregory Bovino said in December, as he and his entourage of masked agents patrolled a residential neighborhood in Kenner, Louisiana, a diverse suburb of New Orleans. Asked by a reporter whether that threat applied to “legal residents,” too, Bovino attempted to clarify. “We’re friends with all legal residents,” he insisted.

The exchange was captured by journalist Amanda Moore, who has spent months documenting the activities of the Border Patrol, ICE, and an alphabet soup of federal law enforcement outfits. Amanda’s videos are intense and often violent; they show disturbing levels of aggression from the heavily armed government agents that President Donald Trump has unleashed on American cities. She’s followed Bovino particular closely, tracking him across the heartland from Chicago to Louisiana to Minneapolis.

Amanda’s footage makes clear that everyone in these communities—undocumented immigrants, residents with legal status, American citizens—have quite a bit to fear from Trump’s immigration crackdown. Following the horrific killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti by ICE and Border Patrol agents in Minnesota, Bovino was reassigned away from his leadership role in the operation. But as Amanda notes, the violent culture and widespread fear he helped create won’t be so easily removed.

Please take a few minutes to watch Amanda’s report on Bovino’s legacy.

Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

Owned by no one—except you.

We just keep seeing it happen: Newsrooms owned by billionaires and corporations are spinning their own narratives, overwriting the truth, following only stories that keep them in the pocket of those with even more power.

Not here. We’re not owned by anyone. We’re not part of any cult that demands our allegiance to a bottom line. We’ve spoken up and spoken out while other newsrooms changed their stories—or cut them altogether—to keep the C suite happy.

Our mission is to find the truth and amplify it. That’s why we’re independent, nonprofit, and, crucially, funded by readers. The investigations on our website will always be free to read, watch, and listen to, but our newsroom is powered by readers who pitch in what they can so we can keep asking the hard questions.

Can you chip in today?

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

INDEPENDENT. BECAUSE OF YOU.

Mother Jones has no billionaires calling the shots—just readers like you making fearless reporting possible

Donate