Gregory Bovino joined the Border Patrol in 1996, at age 26. His gray career only took off three decades later, when his aggressive style caught the attention of the Trump administration, catapulting him to command of police operations for the federal immigration agency in Chicago and Los Angeles. In front of the Hollywood sign, Bovino posted a photo of what he called the “mean green team” and gave his men the order to fight: “This is our city.”
The Obama administration deported 407,000 in fiscal year 2012. Through 2025, Trump deported about 230,000. The difference: current deportations are not concentrated at the border or in prisons, but in cities, affecting immigrants integrated into communities, including thousands of holders of humanitarian visas that were suddenly revoked. Bovino’s main mission was not to multiply the number of deportations, but to sow terror in “our city”.
Occupy the city. Underlying ICE operations is a military concept: retaking lands conquered by enemies. Everything happens as if immigrants were foreign invaders. The notion extends to the governments of sanctuary cities, which have written into local laws prohibiting their police from cooperating with ICE. The White House is waging a domestic war and, inspired by authoritarian regimes, Trump has become accustomed to using the expression “internal enemy”.
The image is everything. In one raid, ICE agents descended from helicopters onto a residential complex, on rappelling ropes, to capture a handful of harmless immigrants. The cinematic action was filmed by the agency and posted on social networks. Spread fear – this is the official strategy.
The number of ICE agents jumped from 10,000 to 22,000 between August 2025 and January 2026. Accelerated recruitment is based on propaganda with a mercenary and ideological appeal. The “mean green team” was hastily trained. He learned that he operates above the law, under the direct protection of Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security. They are fighters from a presidential militia – and, therefore, they walk around with hooded faces. Federal bandits.
A person, legal or undocumented, belongs to the fabric of American society. Minneapolis has proven that it is impossible to deport indiscriminately – in the streets, homes, schools and workplaces – without disrupting the fabric of social life. The wave of protest demonstrations against ICE, punctuated by the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, intertwined the issue of immigration with that of public and civil liberties in the USA. Protesters defending immigrants are ultimately erecting a palisade around the constitutional rights of American citizens.
“This is our city”, not yours. Minneapolis ended Bovino’s short season of glory. Two days after Pretti’s death, the boss was removed from command of the militia. Now, the withdrawal of 700 militia agents has been announced. “Out with ICE”: The popular response to federal discretion is a demand to restore the law. The Trump administration’s domestic strategy has reached a decisive crossroads. The White House cannot move forward without imploding its party and electoral bases. But it cannot actually retreat without renouncing its authoritarian project.
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