Retired Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gregory Bovino has added his voice to the list of those left seething after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said no one respects Border Patrol and ICE in this country during a late-night debate on a Department of Homeland Security funding package. Bovino told Breitbart Texas the comment epitomizes what the Democrat party stands for.
Schumer made the comment in opposition to a Senate Republican move to fund DHS and end the government shutdown. “America is crying out for relief from high costs, and you’re here adding $140 billion to an agency that nobody — two groups — Border Patrol and ICE, that nobody respects in this country,” Schumer exclaimed during the Wednesday night session.
Bovino says he was shocked to hear the longest-serving New York senator say the quiet part out loud, adding, “Schumer encapsulates the left and aligns perfectly with the radicals that we have watched assaulting our federal agents daily as they try to enforce the laws that Congress has passed. He’s no different than the rioter throwing a brick at us, and he let everyone know that with this statement.”
Bovino, who retired in late March, led the historic large-scale interior immigration operations in several major metropolitan areas across the United States. The veteran immigration enforcement chief says he never experienced a time during his three-decade career when one political party vehemently opposed law enforcement.
“Sadly, this sentiment is not just carried by Chuck Schumer. He is the party leader and speaks for nearly every Democrat,” Bovino added. “We saw it at the city and state level when we were met with violent opposition to what we were doing to reduce crime in sanctuary cities across the country.”
The retired El Centro Sector chief fears the dangerous rhetoric will only add to the risks Border Patrol and ICE agents face daily as they carry out their duties enforcing U.S. immigration laws. “Chuck Schumer’s words resonate with radicals on the street who are looking for approval to increase attacks on the men and women of the Border Patrol and ICE,” Bovino emphasized.
The National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), the labor organization that represents rank-and-file agents, issued a stern rebuke of Schumer’s comments on Thursday in a social media post on X. In the post, the organization defended their members against the verbal tirade from the senator, saying, “Extreme leftist advocate Chuck Schumer chose to attack and undermine Border Patrol agents and ICE officers—disrespecting the very people who risk their lives to protect this country. Let’s be clear. The problem isn’t the agents on the line—it’s politicians like Schumer who tear them down to appease the extreme and unhinged maniacs who hate law and order.”
The organization’s sentiment mirrored that of retired Border Patrol Chief Bovino, emphasizing, “agents don’t make the laws—they enforce them. And they do it every day under dangerous, difficult conditions. Elected politicians in Congress like Chuck Schumer make the very laws they criticize.”
Shortly after Senator Schumer’s comments on the Senate floor, President Trump took to Truth Social, posting, “Wow! Cryin’ Chuck Schumer just said, for the whole World to hear, that “NOBODY RESPECTS BORDER PATROL OR ICE.” That is one of the most egregious, incorrect, unpatriotic, and dangerous statements I have EVER heard from a “professional” politician. HE MUST IMMEDIATELY APOLOGIZE TO THESE GREAT PATRIOTS, AND I MEAN NOW!
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Before his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @RandyClarkBBTX.
