'It's just time': Trump's Border Patrol chief resigns amid sex worker allegations
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks announced his resignation Wednesday, effective immediately, in an exclusive interview with Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin — offering a rosy self-assessment that critics say glosses conveniently over a deeply troubled chapter in the agency's recent history.
"It's just time," Banks told Melugin. "I feel like I got the ship back on course. From the least secure, disastrous, chaotic border to the most secure border this country has ever seen. Time to pass the reins, 37 years is time to enjoy the family and life."
Last month, Banks had been accused of regularly soliciting sex workers.
"Banks 'bragged' to colleagues while in his previous management role at Border Patrol about paying for sex with prostitutes while traveling in Colombia and Thailand over the course of a decade," a Washington Examiner report said at the time.
The departure of Banks, a 37-year veteran, raises fresh questions about the future leadership for an agency that spent much of the past year at the center of a political firestorm — largely thanks to the rise and fall of one of its most controversial figures, Greg Bovino.
"Good Riddance"
Bovino became the face of President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign before he was reassigned from his leadership role amid controversial immigration raids throughout the country. His exit from the agency last month was anything but quiet.
California Governor Gavin Newsom didn't mince words about Bovino's departure, saying, "Good riddance. You ruined lives. Spread fear. And spewed hatred. If you're remembered, it will be as the smallest man who ever lived."
Bovino had been deployed to cities across the U.S. to oversee sweeping and often controversial immigration raids, first hitting the Los Angeles area in June of last year, where operations sparked local outcry — including at Home Depot parking lots. In September, Bovino and his agents were deployed to Chicago, followed by Charlotte, New Orleans, and ultimately Minneapolis — where their operations came under scrutiny as two Americans were shot dead by ICE agents, with local residents and leaders denouncing them as heavy-handed and indiscriminate. Border Patrol agents under Bovino's command were captured on video stopping people to ask for their immigration status, including one incident where they targeted someone based on the person's accent.
Lying to a Federal Judge
Bovino's tactics — including throwing gas canisters into crowds of protesters — led to a lawsuit in Chicago and clashes with other administration officials. He was chastised by a federal judge after using chemical agents in residential neighborhoods, violating a court order to curb their use. The judge called Bovino back into court after finding he had repeatedly lied about threats posed by immigrants and protesters.
In one incident, Bovino claimed he threw a gas canister after being hit by a rock — but was forced to walk back the claim after video evidence contradicted him, NBC News reported.
Two American Citizens Dead
It was the deaths of two U.S. citizens that ultimately ended Bovino's run. Bovino was relieved of his role in late January after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis — and the response from Bovino and other officials — triggered widespread political backlash.
Immediately after Pretti's killing, Bovino, citing no evidence, claimed that Pretti intended to "massacre" federal agents.
Bovino was removed from his role as CBP commander at large in January and returned to his role as Border Patrol sector chief in El Centro, California. He announced his retirement shortly thereafter, in an interview with Breitbart.
A Convenient Narrative
Banks's self-congratulatory farewell — crediting himself with steering the agency from "the least secure, disastrous, chaotic border" to "the most secure border this country has ever seen" — fits neatly into the administration's preferred immigration messaging. But with Bovino's shadow still hanging over the agency, critics argue the "ship" Banks claims to have righted is still taking on water.
A federal judge had previously ruled that tactics employed by Bovino in Kern County, California — referred to as Operation Return to Sender — were illegal.
As for who will succeed Banks atop the Border Patrol, that remains an open question — one that will land on the desk of whoever ends up running the Department of Homeland Security next. Bovino's decision to retire came roughly two weeks after Trump announced he had tapped Oklahoma Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who had empowered Bovino and made him a direct report.
Banks gets his retirement. Bovino got his. And somewhere in Minneapolis, the families of Renee Good and Alex Pretti are still waiting for answers.