Overview
- Gregory Bovino resurfaced at the Remigration Summit in Porto, Portugal and on social media in late May where he urged the White House to pursue "mass deportations" and tagged senior aides he said were "watering down" policy.
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin publicly dismissed Bovino’s criticisms as irrelevant after Bovino mocked Mullin’s background and blamed White House aides for slowing enforcement.
- Bovino’s appearances and posts were flagged by multiple outlets because the summit gathers remigration advocates and several far‑right figures, and critics pointed to photos and gestures they say echoed extremist symbolism.
- The flare-up follows a January enforcement operation in Minneapolis that left two U.S. citizens dead, led to Bovino’s removal and retirement, and coincided with a roughly 15% fall in immigration detention counts from January to early April.
- The debate over tougher interior removals comes as the administration plans to count some CBP quick returns with ICE interior removals to boost reported deportation totals and polls show a majority of Americans think the administration is doing too much deporting.