President Donald Trump’s most visible Border Patrol officer, Gregory Bovino, dedicated much of his Christmas Day to arguing online and ranting about deporting “illegal aliens.”
It’s not known who Bovino, who identifies as Christian, was with on Thursday, where he was, or what he did to mark the holy day. But, according to his X account, the 55-year-old Border Patrol commander, who has become one of the best-known faces of Trump’s immigration push, spent much of his waking hours on the social media app.
Posting more than three dozen times in 12 hours, he began his salvo before lunch by blaming Rep. Mike Levin for “creat[ing] sanctuaries,” sniping at the California Democrat: “Luckily we have patriots who put US Citizens and LEGAL immigrants over your lawlessness.”
Bovino’s Christmas meltdown ended with a late-night post to a MAGA influencer in which he promised a big 2026 for his so-called “Green Machine” unit of masked and armed federal agents, declaring: “Mean Green is in it to win it.”
In between, he goaded Rep. Ilhan Omar, a critic of Trump’s hardline immigration tactics in her state of Minnesota, after she wished her followers a merry Christmas.
Bovino replied: “Merry Christmas, Minnesota, you are doing better each day with massive deportations of illegal aliens. Ilan, more to come - Merry Christmas and God bless you on Christ’s birthday. MERRY CHRISTMAS and may American exceptionalism continue!!!!”
He also sent fawning Christmas messages to senior members of the Trump administration, referring to both White House deputy chief of staff and immigration czar Stephen Miller and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth as “sir.” Neither replied.
Throughout the day, Bovino also picked fights with random X users who criticized him, including mocking some with low follower counts, while praising and following those who agreed with his mission.
At one point, he saw the funny side of someone posting what appeared to be an AI-generated image of Bovino in a dress and heels standing next to two Border Patrol officers.
Bovino’s Christmas keyboard crusade came after months of turning federal immigration enforcement into a traveling spectacle—dropping into city after city with what DHS has variously branded his “commander-at-large”-style deployments.
It began in Los Angeles in June, then headed to Chicago in September, where “Operation Midway Blitz” triggered multiple court fights over use of force and identification.
In Chicago, Obama-appointed federal Judge Sara L. Ellis ordered Bovino to perform humiliating daily check-ins after lawyers alleged his agents deployed chemical irritants in ways that swept up bystanders, including families.
She also criticized Bovino for inventing and then repeating under oath a “rock attack” narrative used to justify tear gas.
In late November, Bovino abruptly and briefly flitted to his home state of North Carolina for a Thanksgiving operation that raised eyebrows on Capitol Hill.
He then headed to Louisiana on Dec. 1 for a planned two-month “Swamp Sweep,” before reappearing back in the Chicago area days later with a convoy-style return that drew fresh complaints.
The Daily Beast has approached the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Border Patrol, and Bovino for comment.
