Podcast Summary: "An Interview With the Man Behind Trump’s Current Immigration Crackdown"

The Daily (The New York Times), November 12, 2025
Host: Natalie Kitroeff
Reporter: Hamid Al Yaziz
Guest: Greg Bevino, Border Patrol Chief

Overview:

This episode explores the surge in aggressive immigration enforcement under the second Trump administration, focusing on Border Patrol Chief Greg Bevino, the architect and tactical commander behind mass raids and intensified actions in American cities. Through in-depth conversation with Bevino and analysis by Times reporter Hamid Al Yaziz, the episode examines the evolution of federal deportation tactics, the shift from traditional ICE methods to Border Patrol-led operations, and the legal, political, and human fallout from this sweeping crackdown.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Background: Administration Frustration and Tactical Shift

• Trump Admin's Target: Mass deportations, aiming for 3,000 arrests per day (02:36).

• ICE’s Limitations: ICE criticized as "too methodical," relying on time-intensive surveillance and single-person arrests (03:32).

• Shift to Border Patrol: Administration empowers Border Patrol for their more aggressive, militaristic and rapid methods, especially under Greg Bevino (05:20).

  "Border Patrol typically operates near the southern border... They're more willing to be in your face, to be more militaristic in many ways."
  — Hamid Al Yaziz (05:28)

2. Who is Greg Bevino?

• Origins: Inspired as a child by films and books about the Border Patrol; family connection to Hollywood ("The Border" movie) shaped his vision (07:15).
• Career: Joined Border Patrol in 1996, rose through ranks with a focus on solo, high-stress enforcement (08:14).
• First Trump Term: Noted increased infrastructure and support under Trump: "I couldn't even recognize it... The technology, the improvements... much more secure border." — Greg Bevino (10:07)

3. Policy Contrasts: Trump vs. Biden Approaches

• Trump’s “Listen to Border Patrol” Era: Title 42 policies enabled swift deportation with no asylum process (10:59).

• Biden Years: Though Title 42 continued, approaches shifted to 'throughput and decompression'—releasing people into the U.S. with court dates (11:51). Bevino describes this as a disaster:

  "It undid a lot of work, decades of work, all in a 24 hour period."
  — Greg Bevino (12:26)

• Bevino's Stance: Defied White House decompression strategies in his sector: "We continued to give consequences to those who would come across the border." (14:39)

4. Escalation: ‘Operation Return to Sender’ (January 2025)

• Tactics: Border Patrol conducted mass arrests in California’s Central Valley, targeting areas away from the border (15:36).
• Controversies: Included stops/pull-overs of farmworker vans, detaining people based on appearance; some citizens swept up (16:17, 16:42); methods faced immediate backlash and a lawsuit from ACLU (18:44).
• Legal Outcome: Federal court found violations in procedures, but Bevino sees the operation as a "clear success and...test case" for interior Border Patrol enforcement (19:28).

5. Nationalization of Aggressive Enforcement and Legal Backing

• Expansion: Trump administration appointed Bevino as tactical commander, unleashing similar raids in major cities like Los Angeles and Chicago (20:42, 22:46).

• Raids: Characterized by chaos, high collateral arrests, and viral footage—parking lots, car washes, street vendors (23:00).

• Selection Criteria: Operations said to be intelligence-based, targeting "bad people,” but also willing to arrest any undocumented individuals present as "collaterals" (25:12, 25:39).

  "If there are other individuals there, they're going to get arrested also. If you're an illegal alien, you're going to get arrested."
  — Greg Bevino (25:39)

• Legal Standards: Bevino clarifies use of "reasonable suspicion"; acknowledges ethnicity and language can be factors, but denies blanket profiling (27:12, 27:29).

6. Supreme Court Involvement and Legal Precedent

• Contested Methods: LA judge temporarily limited DHS in the city; Supreme Court (Justice Kavanaugh) lifted the order, validating ethnicity as a factor in stops (30:15).

  "Immigration officers can use ethnicity, at least as a factor in the decision to stop someone on the streets"
  — Hamid Al Yaziz (30:25)

7. Chicago Raid: “Hollywood Moment”

• Dramatics: Massive raid involving hundreds of agents, helicopters, snipers, spotlight—likened to an action film (31:53).
• Pride vs. Fallout: Bevino: "That was a highly successful operation...I'm extremely proud" (32:49); critics cited excessive force, collateral arrests, families swept up, questions on effectiveness (33:28).

8. Political and Public Reaction

• Polarization: For Trump supporters, these are fulfillment of campaign promises; for others, a dangerous escalation and threat to civil liberties (34:28).
• Polling Risks: Rising public unease with the chaotic, visible enforcement—concern that tactics may backfire politically, despite base support (38:32).

9. Future Trajectory

• Strategy Codified: Ex-Border Patrol officials now placed into ICE leadership; signals shift away from measured, targeted ICE approach towards aggressive, numbers-driven enforcement (39:29).
• Potential for More Clashes: Anticipated increase in violence and protests in cities as operations spread (40:22).

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the ICE-Border Patrol divide:

  "ICE is actually too methodical, which honestly is sort of hard to square with the images that we've seen..."
  — Natalie Kitroeff (04:07)

• Bevino, on Trump-era border changes:

  "President Trump had put the new wall in. The 30 foot wall, there's now a wall. There are roads, the roads, the technology..."
  — Greg Bevino (10:07)

• On Biden’s decompression:

  "It undid a lot of work, decades of work, all in a 24 hour period, basically. And that's all it took."
  — Greg Bevino (12:26)

• On expanded tactics:

  "Border enforcement doesn't stop at the border. People who cross illegally into this country, we're going to find them wherever they are."
  — Hamid Al Yaziz (17:52)

• On collateral arrests:

  "If there are other individuals there, they're going to get arrested. Also, if you're an illegal alien, you're going to get arrested."
  — Greg Bevino (25:39)

• On the legality of behavior as determined by the Supreme Court:

  "Immigration officers can use ethnicity, at least as a factor in the decision to stop someone on the streets."
  — Hamid Al Yaziz (30:25)

• Bevino defending operations in Chicago:

  "That was a highly successful operation, Hamad. Remember, there was a lot of American citizens in that apartment building that were being preyed upon by violent gang members...I'm very, extremely proud of that."
  — Greg Bevino (32:49)

• On excess enforcement:

  “No, it doesn't. Because those, especially those inner city residents here in Chicago who have been silenced...those inner city residents come out and say, please stay, please do more.”
  — Greg Bevino (36:11)

• On political direction:

  "The light switch that I said went off during the last administration, went back on, on this administration, except when it went on, it's so bright that I have to put sunglasses on just to even see now."
  — Greg Bevino (37:13)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Frustration with ICE and shift to Border Patrol: 02:36–05:40
• Greg Bevino’s background and motivations: 06:29–08:40
• Biden administration decompression policy: 11:51–13:29
• Operation Return to Sender in Central Valley: 15:28–18:44
• Supreme Court decision on ethnicity as ‘reasonable suspicion’: 30:12–31:00
• Chicago raid—helicopters, snipers, action-movie tactics: 31:41–33:28
• Questions of collateral arrests and zero-tolerance philosophy: 33:28–35:08
• Political polling and public perception: 37:45–39:29
• Transition of CBP officials into ICE leadership: 39:29–40:22

Conclusion

The episode provides a revealing portrait of Greg Bevino and the Trump administration’s new playbook for immigration enforcement—one that prizes speed, scale, and spectacle over caution or discretion. While Bevino's unapologetic, militaristic tactics have the full backing of the White House and, at least temporarily, the Supreme Court, they have also galvanized legal challenges, public outcry, and concerns that the political cost may be steep. The coming months promise more legal tests, more public debate, and a rapidly shifting landscape for immigration enforcement in America’s cities.