• A former Border Patrol Chief and agents are decrying the agency’s alleged retaliation against the chief of California’s El Centro sector, Gregory Bovino.
• The current and former officials told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Bovino is well-respected in the agency and was reassigned because he’s a proponent of border security and an opponent of illegal immigration and honestly described the situation on both issues in recent testimony to Congress.
• “This sends another just yet one more horrible message to the troops, especially when all the chiefs haven’t been interviewed yet, that if you don’t toe the company line that this administration will retaliate against you. I was the first, you can ask any of the chiefs out there,” former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott told the DCNF.

Border Patrol agents and a former agency leader are speaking out about the Biden administration’s alleged retaliation against a senior agency official, telling the Daily Caller News Foundation that he was removed and reassigned for being honest about the southern border and for being a proponent of cracking down on illegal immigration.

The House committees on Oversight and Homeland Security sent a letter Friday to the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) saying that a whistleblower has alleged that Border Patrol Chief for California’s El Centro sector Gregory Bovino was relieved of his duties in early July and reassigned to the agency headquarters hours after providing testimony in their probe into the crisis at the southern border. Agents are both angry and frustrated with the Biden administration over their decisions when it comes to Bovino and the southern border at large because they believe he’s one of the agency’s best, former Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott and the two agents who worked with Bovino told the DCNF. (RELATED: Biden Admin Sues Texas Over Floating Border Barrier)

“This sends another just yet one more horrible message to the troops, especially when all the chiefs haven’t been interviewed yet, that if you don’t toe the company line that this administration will retaliate against you. I was the first, you can ask any of the chiefs out there. That was the message that was received from the vast majority of the personnel and then basically the last chief,” Scott said.

CBP allegedly denied Bovino permission to testify before a full House committee because his prepared testimony didn’t please agency officials, the committees said in their letter.

Bovino was relieved of his duties as chief of the El Centro sector within 30 minutes of delivering his testimony to Congress, according to Scott.

“When he was removed, he was told that it was a combination of his original written testimony and a couple of tweets that he had put out, one was a picture of him in a tactical uniform with an M4 and then one was in response to an illegal migrant that killed somebody driving drunk in California,” Scott said.

“Basically, they’re trying to silence [Bovino],” Scott said, adding that the tweets themselves weren’t against the administration or expressive of political views.

CBP has denied allegations of retaliation against Bovino.

“This accusation is categorically false. This temporary personnel assignment is entirely unrelated to any Congressional testimony or appearance, and was in process prior to the Chief’s transcribed interview,” an agency spokesperson recently told the DCNF.

One agent who previously worked for Bovino described him as “an agent’s agent” who is unwavering in his beliefs in an interview with the DCNF.

“Chief Bovino is a solid leader, trustworthy and approachable. Open-door policy Chief, everyone likes him, even the Union (NBPC) in El Centro was happy to have him as Chief (from my personal perception),” said the agent, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.

“He regularly addressed the troops at musters and could be seen out in the field checking in on us (which is EXTREMELY rare for a Chief). Chief Bovino was f*cked over! BPHQ/D.C. was looking for an excuse to remove him because he is one of the last remaining ‘Old Patrol’ Chiefs, someone who is non-compliant with this administration’s, liberal, pro-illegal immigration agenda,” the agent said.

A second agent echoed the high regard the first agent has for Bovino as a leader in the agency.

“He has been the one very best I worked for,” the second agent, who also wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, told the DCNF.

“If he was given an order not to say anything, and it wasn’t illegal or immoral, then he’s not going to do it. He’s gonna go by the book, and just like testifying to Congress, it’s illegal to lie to them so he’s not going to do it, he’s going to be honest,” the agent said.

Bovino couldn’t be reached for comment.

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