US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commander Gregory Bovino was shown a series of racist emails by an agent who later became his colleague in 2018. The photos included images of Confederate generals and soldiers. In a court deposition, Bovino said that he saw nothing wrong with the photo, calling it "worthless" and stating that it had no relevance to the mission. He never reported the incident or launched an investigation.
CBP agent Christopher Bullock sent the emails as a joke to Bovino because he thought his superior was a history buff. The images depicted Confederate generals and soldiers, including one with the heading "Chief Bovino." Another photo showed reenactors surrounding a Confederate flag, labeled as an "All Hands Meeting" in the New Orleans sector.
In a court filing, two Black Border Patrol agents who were passed over for promotion accused Bovino of shelving competitive hiring practices to promote his friend, Bullock. They stated that they saw the racist emails as part of a broader culture of "bizarre or racially charged email exchanges" within CBP leadership.
Bovino promoted Bullock to division chief despite the agent's lack of qualifications, bypassing the normal competitive process for career advancement. The two agents claimed that this move was motivated by racism and a desire to silence dissent from Black employees.
An investigation into Bullock's behavior found no wrongdoing on his part. However, in a court memo, Bullock expressed regret over sending the emails, stating that he lacked judgment.
Bovino has been accused of having an aggressive deportation campaign in various cities, including Minneapolis, where two agents were shot and killed by federal officers. He has also made comments that contradict video footage showing the circumstances of the shooting.
The case highlights a broader culture of racism within CBP leadership. In a court filing, one of the Black Border Patrol agents stated that the Confederate photos were "obviously racially charged" and part of a larger pattern of behavior by Bovino and Bullock.
CBP agent Christopher Bullock sent the emails as a joke to Bovino because he thought his superior was a history buff. The images depicted Confederate generals and soldiers, including one with the heading "Chief Bovino." Another photo showed reenactors surrounding a Confederate flag, labeled as an "All Hands Meeting" in the New Orleans sector.
In a court filing, two Black Border Patrol agents who were passed over for promotion accused Bovino of shelving competitive hiring practices to promote his friend, Bullock. They stated that they saw the racist emails as part of a broader culture of "bizarre or racially charged email exchanges" within CBP leadership.
Bovino promoted Bullock to division chief despite the agent's lack of qualifications, bypassing the normal competitive process for career advancement. The two agents claimed that this move was motivated by racism and a desire to silence dissent from Black employees.
An investigation into Bullock's behavior found no wrongdoing on his part. However, in a court memo, Bullock expressed regret over sending the emails, stating that he lacked judgment.
Bovino has been accused of having an aggressive deportation campaign in various cities, including Minneapolis, where two agents were shot and killed by federal officers. He has also made comments that contradict video footage showing the circumstances of the shooting.
The case highlights a broader culture of racism within CBP leadership. In a court filing, one of the Black Border Patrol agents stated that the Confederate photos were "obviously racially charged" and part of a larger pattern of behavior by Bovino and Bullock.
...i cant even imagine bein in bocop's shoes knowin someone u trusted showed u racist stuff like that 
...and the worst part is he never did anythin about it, just called it worthless 
...it makes me wonder how many other racist things happened behind closed doors at CBP 
...its not just the individual behavior thats a problem its also the culture of silence and lack of accountability that lets this kind of thing happen 
that's not okay, man. And then you got these agents saying they were passed over for promotion because of Bovino's buddy Bullock... that doesn't sound right either. I'm not saying Bullock sent the emails on purpose to be racist or anything, but it was still a bad joke, right? 
and now Bovino is all high up in his position with an aggressive deportation campaign going on... that's some concerning stuff. 
. And what's even worse is that the guy who sent those racist emails said sorry later and expressed regret, but it's too little, too late in my opinion 
.
. We need more transparency and accountability so that these kinds of situations don't happen again 
.
Man, this is wild. So like, Gregory Bovino's all high and mighty saying he didn't see anything wrong with them racist emails, but it's pretty clear to me that someone in the upper echelons of CBP knew exactly what was going on. And then you got Christopher Bullock getting away scot-free despite sending out those super racist pics... 
The fact that an investigation found no wrongdoing for Bullock, but he still expressed regret over sending those emails, is just more proof of a systemic problem. We need to get some serious reforms in place if we want to make sure our border agents are doing the right thing... 
. And then your boss just shrugs it off and promotes the guy who sent them? That's straight up favoritism, you feel me? 
. And what really gets me is that no one reported this stuff back in 2018, it's like they just let it slide 
.
.
.
.
Not exactly a shocker given the racist emails and lack of accountability from Bovino 
That's like, a whole lot of systemic issues to ignore 
. The chart showing the rise in arrests under Bovino's command? Up 32% in just one year! 
. It's like, we're trying to fix systemic racism in this country and these are the kinda people leading the charge? 
.
. It’s like, what was Bovino thinking? This whole thing just highlights a deeper issue with racism within CBP leadership, and I don't think anyone can deny that 
. Like, if you're gonna send racist emails as a joke, own up to it! It’s not that hard, dude 
? That's just wrong. It's clear that there's some serious racism going on here and someone needs to do something about it 
. But on the other hand, an investigation found no wrongdoing on Bullock's part... I don't know, maybe he just has a weird sense of humor or something 
.
... Can't make up their minds on this one 
.
. I just hope that some real change happens soon and these kinds of things don't keep happening in the future 
No way, dude, that's just messed up! 
The fact that two Black agents were passed over for promotion because of racism is just heartbreaking 
. We need more accountability and less excuses from people in power 
#RacismIsNotAJoke #CBPLeadershipFail #AccountabilityMatters