Former Border Patrol official Greg Bovino has sharply criticized Donald Trump’s inner circle, accusing senior aides of weakening the president’s immigration agenda and blunting the hardline approach he says voters support. In remarks reported by The Independent and referenced by RadarOnline.com, Bovino said Trump is getting “better advice” from outsiders than from some members of his own administration, and suggested that people close to the president “might have other interests.” He singled out White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as a key figure in what he described as an effort to “water down” mass deportation policies.
Bovino argued that tougher immigration enforcement remains essential to Trump’s political success, saying the administration risks abandoning one of its strongest issues. He also mocked Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin while discussing the government’s response, comparing him to a plumber who could fix a simple leak but not a national immigration crisis involving what Bovino described as “a hundred million illegal aliens.” The comments marked one of his most direct public attacks on a senior Trump administration official since leaving government.
Beyond his remarks at a conference in Portugal, Bovino has repeatedly criticized Wiles on social media. In one post on X, he questioned why Trump’s team would “dial it back” on mass deportations if immigration is the president’s top polling issue. He argued that the administration should not retreat from what he called Trump’s strongest political advantage, saying mass deportations are the path to continued victory.
Bovino also posted about unrest and immigration enforcement, saying he could handle the situation himself and warning that agents’ lives were at risk because of what he described as inaction from Wiles. In another message, he accused Wiles and Chris LaCivita of steering Trump toward “caving to anarchists” instead of delivering the strong enforcement policy he said voters demanded. He added that this was not what America voted for.
His criticism has extended to other Trump allies as well. Bovino has taken aim at border czar Tom Homan, calling some of his efforts “political theater.” At the same time, Bovino praised White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, describing him as the “backbone” of the administration and crediting him with recognizing the scale of the immigration problem. He said Miller understands the issue is unsustainable, while accusing Democrats of ignoring the long-term consequences and suggesting that some Republicans care more about short-term profit than national stability.
Bovino ended by again questioning Wiles’ influence inside the White House and asking why she was not allowing others to work alongside Miller to fully carry out the administration’s immigration vision. His remarks highlight the ongoing internal debate over how aggressively Trump should pursue deportations and border enforcement as immigration remains a defining political issue for his base.
