Wee Man Greg Bovino Wants Headlines—Not Criminals

Summary

Bulwark Takes Podcast Summary

Episode: Wee Man Greg Bovino Wants Headlines—Not Criminals
Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Tim O. (The Bulwark)

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Brief Overview

In this episode, Tim O. reports from the front lines of an anti-ICE protest in Kenner, a suburb of New Orleans with a significant immigrant community. The episode focuses on recent ICE raids in the area, highlighting the disparity between the government’s public narrative and the lived experiences and documentation efforts of local activists and residents. The main argument: these raids are more about public relations and intimidation than about removing dangerous criminals.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. ICE Raids: Fear Over Justice

[01:29]–[05:06]

• Tim O. describes attending an anti-ICE protest, portraying the raids as intimidation tactics rather than meaningful law enforcement:
  • Out of 38 people arrested in recent raids, only 9 had any criminal history.
  • An internal ICE and CBP bulletin advised against releasing data on arrests, yet the Associated Press obtained details regardless.
  • Local officials and city leaders (e.g., City Council President JP Morrell) receive no coordination or transparency from ICE.
    • Quote: “There's literally no information being given to the city of New Orleans whatsoever.” — JP Morrell ([02:22])
  • Tim’s assessment: the real purpose is to “menace people, particularly in brown neighborhoods... That is what I was hearing.”
  • Activists are risking arrest by documenting raids due to state laws limiting protest activities.

2. PR Stunts and ‘Wee Man’ Greg Bovino

[05:06]–[07:04]

• Tim outlines how ICE leadership—particularly Greg Bovino (“the wee little Napoleon syndrome guy”)—is putting on public spectacles, prioritizing headlines over public safety.
  • Quote: “This is a big show... If it wasn’t so horrible what they were doing, it’d be almost funny how pathetic it is that this little guy wants to get on TV, and he wants confrontation.” — Tim O. ([06:14])
• Examples include personal appearances at raids, confrontations for cameras, and dramatic “frog marches.”
• The true effect: widespread fear, with many immigrants (including those with legal status) too scared to leave home or go to work.

3. Community Impact: Lost Livelihoods and Suffering Families

[07:04]–[09:24]

• Tim rebukes political narratives that undocumented immigrants are “taking jobs,” noting that even verified American workers are affected due to widespread fear.
  • Example: A viral TikTok showed a contractor with increased job requests following the raids, but the real story is that “there are a lot of people here legally who are not wanting to show up to contracted jobs because they don’t want to be harassed.”
    • Quote: “In this community, there are a lot of folks right now that are suffering, that are made to be afraid and our government is doing it to them for no good reason.” — Tim O. ([08:17])
• The state government is complicit, allowing federal agencies to operate unchecked.

4. Faith, Resistance, and Solidarity

[09:24]–[10:33]

• Before the protest, the group held a moment of prayer, reflecting vulnerability and seeking divine protection from a government “pretending like they are acting in service to Christian nationalism.”
  • Quote: “Groups came together that felt like they had to pray to God for protection from our government...” — Tim O. ([09:53])
• The contradiction between the government’s claimed Christian values and its actions was highlighted.

5. Personal Testimonies from the Ground

A) Greta from Indivisible Kenner

[10:52]–[12:33]

• Greta, a local activist, shares a moving account of a 20-day-old baby whose parents were separated—father detained, mother facing eviction.
  • Quote: “I am literally going and making the boxes... because they need it. Basic needs.” — Greta ([12:24])
• Describes urgent need for food and basic support in the community.

B) Roel’s Confrontation with ICE

[12:33]–[13:33]

• Roel, a Filipino-American citizen, recounts being harassed by masked ICE officials in Metairie.
  • Roel stands his ground, challenging ICE agents directly:
  • Quote: “Y'all really trying to fuck with people... I mean, come on, show me your face.” — Roel ([13:12])
• Highlights the indiscriminate nature of the raids and the targeting of non-white residents regardless of status.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ICE’s agenda:
  • “What they’re interested in doing is menacing people, particularly in brown neighborhoods...” — Tim O. ([03:36])
• On political motives:
  • “Governor of the state is also a little man, Napoleon syndrome, who wants to seem like a tough guy, just like Vivino.” — Tim O. ([08:45])
• On faith and protest:
  • “They had to pray to God for protection from our government...” — Tim O. ([09:53])
• On community impact:
  • “This is serious. It’s a dire need... making the boxes and stuff because they need it. Basic needs.” — Greta ([12:24])
• On firsthand resistance:
  • “Show me your face, bro.” — Roel ([13:22])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:29] Tim O. introduces the context: ICE raids in Kenner
• [03:36] Local officials left in the dark, intimidation focus
• [05:06] Greg Bovino’s PR-seeking behavior exposed
• [06:14] Pathetic spectacle of ICE leadership
• [08:17] Reality of fear and suffering: Not about jobs but intimidation
• [09:53] Faith and prayer—community seeks protection
• [10:52] Greta shares community struggles and urgent stories
• [12:33] Roel’s video: Confronting ICE agents directly

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Tone and Style

The episode is sharply critical, employing a mixture of earnest reporting, outraged commentary, and solidarity with the affected community. Tim O.'s style is unvarnished, sometimes acerbic (“wee little Napoleon syndrome guy”), yet focused on amplifying the voices and real-life impacts on those targeted by these policies.

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Summary

This episode of Bulwark Takes unpacks how recent ICE raids in New Orleans are being used primarily as propaganda and intimidation against immigrant communities, rather than targeted law enforcement to remove violent criminals. Through on-site reporting, interviews with local activists, and firsthand testimonies, the episode paints a vivid picture of government overreach, community resilience, and the everyday human cost of these PR-driven operations.

Listeners come away with a clear sense of both the injustice unfolding on the ground and the courage of those resisting it—complete with voices, prayers, and moments of resistance.

Transcript

[A]

Okay, it's kind of embarrassing how bad I am at budgeting.

[B]

Let me see your charges.

[A]

Ugh, Fine.

[B]

You spent over $600 on takeout last month.

[A]

I can't cook. You know this.

[B]

Yes, I have had your disgusting food, but you're literally paying for a meal subscription on top of that.

[A]

Whoa, wait, wait, wait. That. That can't be right.

[B]

Look, just get Rocket Money. It shows you all of your expenses in one place and even tracks your subscriptions. And if there's a subscription you don't want, which for you, there are a lot you don't need, you can just cancel right in the app with a few taps.

[A]

So you mean I don't call anyone to cancel?

[B]

Nope. No hold times or anything. And they'll even try to get you a refund on some of the months of wasted money, which is a lot of money for you.

[A]

Okay. Okay.

[B]

And if you thought I was done, I'm not. The app can also help you make a budget that works for your income. Anytime you get close to your spending limits, it alerts you, so you know exactly where your money is going at all times.

[A]

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[B]

Go to RocketMoney.com cancel or download the app from the Apple or Google Play stores.

[C]

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[D]

Hey, everybody. It's Tim O. From the Bulwark. I was at an anti ICE protest in Kenner, a suburban neighborhood outside of New Orleans that has a big immigrant community, particularly immigrants from Honduras, but also other Central and South American countries. And I met with a bunch of activists who had gathered in a parking lot where ICE officials had been staging their raids over the past few days. And so I want to show you a couple of the conversations I had from there, and then a couple of the videos that they provided me of what they've seen from the ICE raids here in New Orleans. But just in the biggest picture, I just wanted to talk about, like, what my takeaways are from what we've seen. It parallels what we've seen in other cities, which is that this effort is a lot more about pr. It's about scaring people and intimidating people than it is about getting rid of criminals like Donald Trump has planned. Just looking at the facts here, the Associated Press reviewed the arrests they've had so far. In the first couple days, they've had 38 people arrested. Only nine of them had criminal histories. They got that information even though Intelligence Bulletin, internal to ICE and cpb, warned that they should not be distributed to the media. Oops. Oh, well. Local officials here are not being coordinated with or not being, or not being worked with. One example, City Council President JP Morrell said there's literally no information being given to the city of New Orleans whatsoever. If their goal is for them to come here and augment existing law enforcement to pursue violent criminals or people with criminal histories, why wouldn't you be more transparent with who you've arrested and why? That was his quote. But then also, why wouldn't they want to work with the city, work with the people on the ground who have actual information that could maybe be helpful? I can answer that rhetorical question. They're not doing that because they're not interested in going after criminals per se. What they're interested in doing is menacing people, particularly in brown neighborhoods, particularly neighborhoods where there are a lot of immigrants. And that is what I was hearing when I was out at this protest today. And just shout out, by the way, to these folks who are on the text chains, who are, you know, following the ICE and CBP officials around when they're in their masks, raiding and going after people.

Their citizens are taking from their time to document.

This horrific behavior by our government. They're putting themselves at risk because here in Louisiana in particular, they passed one of those laws that's to me, an affront to the First Amendment about that limits specifically what kind of activities protesters can engage in and says that they can be arrested if they do anything that interferes with.

The law enforcement activities. And that is a legislation that the attorney general here, Louisiana has said that they plan on enforcing in a very strict way. And when I talked to the folks who are out there, the activists and the protesters, they all were very aware of the risk that they were facing. And, you know, some had taken different precautions, you know, such as, like writing their lawyer's name on their arm in case they. Their phones get confiscated or in case they don't want to let officials get into their phones. So, anyway, just a big shout out to all the people that are actually out there.

Sending a message from the community that, not that there are people in New Orleans who aren't okay with this just fascistic behavior from the Federal government. So what am I hearing from them? Number one, little man, Greg Bevino, the wee little Napoleon syndrome guy that is invading these cities and doing the Nazi hand signs, he wants attention. This is obvious, but it's just worth stating. There's no reason for him to be showing up himself personally, these types of raids. But he is, you know, they say they've seen in a situation so that they will, you know, he'll be in the SUV and, you know, they'll be targeting a couple of individuals and, like, he will get out of the car and. And confront those officials themselves. There'll be video cameras watching him. Like, this is a big show. He did a. He did a frog march through the French Quarter when they got down here a couple days ago. Like, the PR element of this is just so obvious and so blatant, and if it wasn't so horrible what they were doing, it'd be almost funny how pathetic it is like, that this little guy wants to. Wants to get on tv, and he wants confrontation. He wants confrontation so they can escalate and so that he can seem like the tough guy. So that's one thing that I've heard. You know, the other thing is, again, how they are intimidating people, and they want people to feel fear. They're particularly targeting this neighborhood in Kenner because they know that there are, you know, families with mixed status, that there are people here who are following the laws but who are not documented, who are, you know, working in the community. And a lot of those folks are scared, and a lot of folks are staying at home. And there are a lot of.

Jobs that aren't. Aren't going. That are not being completed. And, you know, there's this tweet today sent by our vice president, a little condescending prick who shared a TikTok video from a white guy in Louisiana who was talking about how he's gotten so many calls for work, for contracting work, and how that shows that, like, these jobs are being taken from real Americans or these undocumented immigrants. And watch that whole video. And the interesting thing is, who the hell knows whether it's true or not? Like, should the vice president be, quote, treating random tiktoks without any verification? No, but let's even say it's true. The guy said he has a. He's a contractor here, and he said he's gotten 20 calls sometimes a day now for completing jobs. The thing that caught my ear was like, can you do that? Can you complete all the jobs? Because it doesn't seem like it Is there going to be a little bit more work for you and for your company? It seems like it, yeah, it seems like there'd be a little bit of work. Is that work going to be because everybody that was doing those jobs was undocumented. No, I don't think so. There are a lot of people who are here legally who are not wanting to show up to contracted jobs because they don't want to be harassed. Maybe they have family members that have a different status. Like there are a lot of reasons to be scared and not want to show up right now. When I was talking to folks at the protests like that is, you know, what I heard was that in this community there are a lot of folks right now that are suffering, that are made to be afraid and our government is doing it to them for no good reason. That is the big takeaway. There is no evidence in Louisiana that they have successfully identified violent criminals and gotten them out of the country. There is no evidence that this is going to make things more affordable or whatever it is that JD Vance is arguing here in Louisiana. There's no evidence that people are going to be safer. Like what these guys are doing is they are putting on a fascist PR stunt and they're doing it here because the governor of the state is, is going to allow them to. Because the governor of the state is also a little man, Napoleon syndrome, who wants to seem like a tough guy, just like Vivino. There are real people that are going to suffer here because of it. People who just wanted to do work, live their lives, support their community and exist in a community in peace. And that peace is being taken from them by this government. The other thing I was struck before the group went out on the protest march today, there was a moment of prayer and there was a lot of talk about Christian faith, God protecting this community. And I think that's pretty noteworthy that there was groups that came together that felt like they had to pray.

To God for protection from our government, from our government that is pretending like they are acting in service to Christian nationalism, to whatever, you know, that they will put on their cross necklaces and from behind their cross necklaces they will go after and attack and scare people that.

Are God fearing, law abiding and just trying to survive. And I think it's pretty sick. So I want to play a couple of clips. Here's just a little brief snippet from that prayer so you can kind of get a sense of the gathering.

[E]

We ask God that your mercy, that your face shines upon everyone here.

[D]

And up next, I want to play for you a little bit for my conversation with Greta, who is with Indivisible Canter, which was one of the groups organizing this protest. And she just tells this heartbreaking story about a baby whose. Whose parents have been made to be unable to care for it because of what's been happening here. It's terrible. It is kind of noisy, I should say, at this protest. Get a lot of cars coming by that are honking. So if you can't make it through that, I do want to flag that after this. I want to play one video that was sent to me today that.

Well, I mean, it's a horrible situation, but sometimes we have to smile at some of the more bold displays of resistance that we've seen. And I will have one more video on the back end for you, so stick around for that. If all the honking is too much for your little ears.

[E]

My name is Greta.

[D]

Greta. And that is your neighborhood.

[E]

This is my neighborhood. I live in Kenner, right on this, right across two blocks from here.

[D]

What have you been hearing about in the community of seeing?

[E]

Have you heard a lot of weed? We need food. Babies, like a 20. 20 day year old baby. 20 days old baby. Literally, like we have. They picked up the father, the mom has. They're evicting her from her apartment, and then she's got to go live with other people. I mean, this is serious. It's a dire need. I. I fed yesterday.

And if anybody can help or support in that, I mean, I am literally going and making. Making the boxes and stuff because they need it. Basic needs.

[D]

All right, thanks to Greta so much for talking to me. This last video is from Roel. He's of Filipino origin, and he was out at a office parking lot in Metairie, which is the next suburb over from Kenner, when ICE, you know, pulled up on him. And he's a U.S. citizen, and he had some none too nice things to say about the masked guys that were trying to give him the papers, please treatment because he isn't white. Let's listen to a little bit from Roel. Y' all really trying to fuck with people. Yeah, you are. I mean, come on, show me your face. Show me your face.

[E]

You can show me your face, right?

[D]

You can show me your face.

[E]

Yeah, son.

[D]

Show me your face, bro.

Y'.

[F]

All.

[D]

You.

Pussy. All right, everybody. Thanks so much to Roel. Thanks to everybody here in New Orleans has been posting their experiences, has been posting examples of misbehavior by our government. Continue to do that. Please flag it for me. We've got a tips line, the bulwark.com tips. Or, you know, you can tag me on social media, and I'll do my best to elevate the videos that people need to see about what ICE is doing here in New Orleans or anywhere else across the country. Appreciate you all. Subscribe to the feed. We'll be seeing you soon.

[C]

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[F]

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[A]

Okay, it's kind of embarrassing how bad I am at budgeting.

[B]

Let me see your charges.

[A]

Fine.

[B]

You spent over $600 on takeout last month.

[A]

I can't cook. You know this.

[B]

Yes, I have had your disgusting food, but you're literally paying for a meal subscription on top of that.

[A]

Whoa, wait, wait, wait. That. That can't be right.

[B]

Look, just get Rocket Money. It shows you all of your expenses in one place and even tracks your subscriptions. And if there's a subscription, you don'. Which for you, there are a lot you don't need. You can just cancel right in the app with a few taps.

[A]

So you mean I don't have to call anyone to cancel? Nope.

[B]

No hold times or anything. And they'll even try to get you a refund on some of the months of wasted money, which is a lot of money for you.

[A]

Okay. Okay.

[B]

And if you thought I was done, I'm not. The app can also help you make a budget that works for your income. Anytime you get close to your spending limits, it alerts you, so you know exactly where your money is going at all times.

[A]

All right, I'm in. What do I have to do?

[B]

Go to RocketMoney.com cancel or download the app from the Apple or Google Play stores.