Controversial Border Patrol Leader Accused of Making Anti-Semitic Remarks on Conference Call.
A recent conference call involving Gregory Bovino, the former leader of the Border Patrol in Minnesota, has sparked outrage after it emerged that he used language offensive to Jewish federal officials. The call, which took place on January 12, was meant to coordinate a meeting with multiple federal officials to discuss issues related to the massive deployment of immigration agents in the area.
During the call, Bovino allegedly asked if Daniel Rosen, an Orthodox Jew and U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, could attend the meeting due to his Sabbath observance. His response, "Do Orthodox criminals also take off on Saturday?", was described as an "antisemitic rant" by one source. He also used the phrase "chosen people" in a disparaging manner.
The alleged comments were relayed to Attorney General Pam Bondi and others in the Department of Justice, as well as the White House. The Department of Homeland Security, the White House, and the Department of Justice have yet to respond to requests for comment on the matter.
Bovino's remarks have contributed to a growing unease between federal immigration officials and some Minnesota-based federal prosecutors. ICE and Border Patrol officers have been engaged in a surge of raids and arrests, sparking widespread protests. Bovino has faced criticism before for his sometimes brusque manner, including from U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who described him as "cute" but also evasive during a deposition.
In November, an appeals court paused Judge Ellis's injunction limiting the use of force by federal immigration agents in Chicago. Bovino was reassigned and relieved of his command in Minneapolis earlier this week following an intense backlash over how top U.S. officials responded to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection officers on January 24.
Bovino is being reassigned to his old job at California's El Centro sector, where he served as chief agent before being deployed to major American cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago, to lead sweeping immigration roundups. The alleged comments from Bovino come at a time when the Trump administration has sought to make countering antisemitism one of its primary policy goals.
The Justice Department and the Department of Education have launched dozens of civil rights probes into whether college campuses failed to adequately protect Jewish students during protests over the war in Gaza in 2023.
A recent conference call involving Gregory Bovino, the former leader of the Border Patrol in Minnesota, has sparked outrage after it emerged that he used language offensive to Jewish federal officials. The call, which took place on January 12, was meant to coordinate a meeting with multiple federal officials to discuss issues related to the massive deployment of immigration agents in the area.
During the call, Bovino allegedly asked if Daniel Rosen, an Orthodox Jew and U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, could attend the meeting due to his Sabbath observance. His response, "Do Orthodox criminals also take off on Saturday?", was described as an "antisemitic rant" by one source. He also used the phrase "chosen people" in a disparaging manner.
The alleged comments were relayed to Attorney General Pam Bondi and others in the Department of Justice, as well as the White House. The Department of Homeland Security, the White House, and the Department of Justice have yet to respond to requests for comment on the matter.
Bovino's remarks have contributed to a growing unease between federal immigration officials and some Minnesota-based federal prosecutors. ICE and Border Patrol officers have been engaged in a surge of raids and arrests, sparking widespread protests. Bovino has faced criticism before for his sometimes brusque manner, including from U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, who described him as "cute" but also evasive during a deposition.
In November, an appeals court paused Judge Ellis's injunction limiting the use of force by federal immigration agents in Chicago. Bovino was reassigned and relieved of his command in Minneapolis earlier this week following an intense backlash over how top U.S. officials responded to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by Customs and Border Protection officers on January 24.
Bovino is being reassigned to his old job at California's El Centro sector, where he served as chief agent before being deployed to major American cities, including Los Angeles and Chicago, to lead sweeping immigration roundups. The alleged comments from Bovino come at a time when the Trump administration has sought to make countering antisemitism one of its primary policy goals.
The Justice Department and the Department of Education have launched dozens of civil rights probes into whether college campuses failed to adequately protect Jewish students during protests over the war in Gaza in 2023.
he made some super discriminatory comments about jewish ppl on a conf call 
and now hes gettin reassigned lol yeah i no we gotta keep our gov officials accountable but come on, cant they just be civil? 
im glad the department of justice is takin action tho 
this kinda thing has been happenin 4 ages and its still not good enough
this is so frustrating, can't they just keep their personal thoughts at home? like who asks if jewish people take off on saturday 
, I cant believe what happened on that conference call. Someone who's supposed to be enforcing our laws ends up being one of those people who spews hate speech 
. I mean, come on, asking if Orthodox criminals take off on Saturday? That's just disgusting 
. And using the term "chosen people" like it's an insult? It's not okay, period 
.
. We need more people like her who aren't afraid to speak up against hate and intolerance 
. And yeah, the whole situation with ICE and Border Patrol raids is already super concerning 
. We need to make sure our law enforcement agencies are holding themselves accountable for their actions 
.
. I mean, if we're going to take action against hate speech, it needs to be consistent across the board 
. No more exceptions or let's just turn a blind eye 
. We need real change and accountability 
.
does he really think that's gonna affect his job? newsflash: if you're workin' with a bunch of federal officials who already got their butts hurt by cbp officers last year, you might wanna watch your mouth more often. also, i'm not buying the whole "chosen people" thing... sounds like some dude got caught speakin' his mind and now everyone's gettin' all huffy puffy 
this is a huge deal, but can we take a step back and think about how we can prevent this kind of thing from happening in the first place? I mean, come on, guys, let's not be like that 
. We gotta have some common sense and respect for everyone, regardless of their background or identity. It's crazy that these comments even made it to a conference call, and now we've got a whole mess to clean up 
I'm really disappointed in this news... how could someone who's supposed to be protecting people think that using language like that is acceptable? 
. Do we really need to make such a big deal out of this? Like, shouldn't people be able to joke around on conference calls without getting roasted? 
I'm all for addressing the issue, but come on... it's just words, right? And what's with the backlash against Bovino? He was just trying to do his job, albeit a bit awkwardly 
. The Trump administration is trying to make a big deal about countering antisemitism, but I think they're missing the point... 
. I'm literally shaking with anger thinking about it... like, who does he think he is?! and to make matters worse, these comments came out at the worst possible time when antisemitism is being taken seriously by the government 
. and also, it makes me happy that the Trump administration is trying to tackle this issue head-on... maybe we can finally start to make some real progress here? 
this is so messed up ... like can't they do better than that? 
it's just not right, you know? and to think he was in charge of border patrol, trying to enforce immigration laws... what an abuse of power 
. and now he gets reassigned to california... still a job, but not exactly the prestige he had before 
, like what is wrong with some ppl 
& now he gets to go back 2 cali with a slap on the wrist 
. The fact that he's been accused of making anti-Semitic remarks during a conference call is just appalling 
.
. There were already tensions between federal immigration officials and some Minnesota-based federal prosecutors, but now we got this new layer 
. We're seeing a surge in raids and arrests, which is sparking protests everywhere 
. And it's not just about hate groups, but also from individuals like Bovino who have platforms and influence 
. But what I want to know is how many of these policies are actually effective? 
.
. There were over 10,000 federal agents who participated in the January 6th insurrection 
, but we don't hear as much about them as we do about Bovino's comments