Outgoing Border Patrol Chief Leaves Admin With One Simple Regret: ‘I Wish I’d Caught Even More’

The outgoing commander at large of the U.S. Border Patrol, Greg Bovino, said his only regret was that he didn’t catch more illegal immigrants.

Bovino gave the confession to The New York Times on Tuesday as he prepares to step down at the end of March. The interview comes after he led the Homeland Security Department’s (DHS) Operation Metro Surge against illegal aliens in Minnesota that prompted widespread protests and two shootings involving federal officers. He announced his departure earlier in the month after President Donald Trump’s administration ended his role in

“I wish I’d caught even more illegal aliens,” Bovino told the Times. “I mean, we went as hard as we could, but there’s always a creative and innovative solution to catching even more.” (RELATED: A Key Immigration Ruling Is Flying Under The Radar)

“We wanted total border domination,” he continued. “When you use terms like that, perhaps it scares some of the weaker-minded people. Domination. I want you to dominate that border I’m not going to ‘control’ it. We’re going to dominate the hell out of that damn place.”

President Donald Trump was of a similar mind, telling Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese on Tuesday that he “understands what [Bovino] means.”

.@reaganreese_ asks Donald Trump about his former Border Patrol chief’s regret over not catching more illegal immigrants—Trump says he “understands.”

Watch 👇 pic.twitter.com/qkZ5X65SIB

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 24, 2026

Trump said he would have “liked to have captured more” of the “rough, rough, rough people” from all over the world that former President Joe Biden’s administration had let into the country.

“We’re removing thousands of people, and many are self-deporting because we’re going after them so powerfully,” Trump told Reese, emphasizing that they are really focused on getting criminal illegal aliens out.

Bovino told the Times that he planned to facilitate the deportation of 100 million people and said border enforcement officers had received “a lot of kudos from the Trumpster.” However, the Times reported that the administration ultimately pulled back from him.

Six active and former officials in homeland security claimed he was a serious institutional problem, according to the outlet. The officials alleged his theatrics and lack of respect for rules and standards occasionally pushed away people who typically agreed with him politically. Some of the officials spoke anonymously to the Times because DHS had not cleared them to speak.

Bovino started his Border Patrol career in California’s El Centro sector and worked around the West and further afield until he was asked to lead the Minnesota operation. Following the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, Bovino returned to El Centro before announcing his retirement.

The Daily Caller reached out to DHS for comment.