US Politics
Rideshare driver shares encounter with Greg Bovino in Minneapolis over ‘his accent’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.
Read more
A rideshare driver in Minneapolis has described his encounter with Border Patrol chief Gregory Bovino after being questioned by federal agents over his accent.
“It was very obvious to me by the way Border Patrol was acting with me unprofessionally, that they really didn’t care about my identity,” Ahmed Bin Hassan told CNN on Thursday.
“[An agent] said, ‘You know what? I know you’re not an American citizen, and I demand that you show me proof of that … What’s making me ask you this stuff is, you do not sound like me… You don’t have the same accent as me.’
“So I was shocked. I was startled. And I said, ‘Are we using accents now to verify citizenship? It was just absurd to hear that.”
Moments after the first encounter with agents, Bin Hassan said Bovino approached him and talked to him in what he described as an unserious and almost joking manner.
open image in gallery
“They’re just harassing people based on skin color… What do you guys want to do today? You guys gonna take me away?” Hassan asks in the video he captured of it.
“Well, that depends. Are you an illegal alien?” Bovino responded, to which Hassan replied, “Yes, I’m an illegal alien from another planet.”
“If that’s the case, if you’re from another planet – that counts too,” Bovino says.
The interactions took place the same day as the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good on January 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. Less than three weeks later, Border Patrol agents would be involved in a second fatal shooting, this time of ICU nurse Alex Pretti.
In the video, Hassan is heard questioning Bovino over Good’s death.
open image in gallery
“What the hell happened? Why are you guys shooting at people?” he says. “Why did you guys shoot that lady? Answer me that there’s an officer today that shot a lady in the head, dude, for what? You could have just got her, man, she’s not gonna fly out of the country like an alien.”
“On a spaceship?” Bovino responds after appearing to shrug off Hassan’s comments.
The Independent has contacted Border Patrol and the DHS for comment on the interaction between the two men.
open image in gallery
Bovino has now been removed from Minneapolis in the wake of outrage following Pretti’s death on Saturday. The Trump administration denied reports that Bovino had been removed from his position as “commander at large” of Border Patrol.
However, the White House’s initially aggressive response to Pretti’s death appears to have been somewhat tempered following outrage from both sides of the political aisle, including Second Amendment Republicans and even the National Rifle Association.
Criticism has been leveled at Donald Trump’s assertion that Pretti “shouldn’t have been carrying a gun” while attending the protest.
