Former Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino, who currently lives in North Carolina, is making an extraordinary claim about the scale of illegal immigration in the United States, arguing that roughly 107 million undocumented immigrants are currently living in the country. The figure would represent nearly one-third of the entire country’s population, and plenty of people online are asking Bovino to show exactly how he came to that.
The claim was made during an interview with Tucker Carlson while arguing that the Trump administration’s current immigration crackdown isn’t anywhere near good enough. While commenters didn’t necessarily disagree with Bovino, they did have a tough time accepting this number.
Bovino has spent much of his time publicly pushing for a considerably more aggressive approach to immigration enforcement. In his X post, he writes, “I spent 30 years on the front lines. The real number is over 107 million illegal aliens in the U.S. The official story, stays locked at 11-14 million (Same number for 40 years!).”
Before retiring from Border Patrol earlier this year, he continues to push for the idea that federal agents apprehend even more undocumented individuals, writing, “Which one has the stronger incentive to stay protected? In this interview I said it straight. The scale is so large that your very SURVIVAL is at stake.“
This figure, however, is dramatically higher than widely cited estimates of the undocumented population. Even the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an organization that favors lower immigration levels and stricter enforcement, estimates the population to be at 18.6 million in 2025, according to Tablet.
Bovino’s comments also arrive while immigration enforcement remains extremely active under the Trump administration.
Comments and Reactions to Greg Bovino’s 107 Million Claim
Many commenters weren’t necessarily rejecting Bovino’s claims, but they did have a hard time accepting the number without hard evidence. One person wrote, “This is so outrageous I would be rightfully excoriated if I told anyone I believe it. You need to back this number up with evidence. 30 years as a border cop doesn’t do as much for you on statistics as you think it does chief.“
Others simply did the math and wondered how more than 100 million undocumented immigrants could realistically be living in the country without existing population estimates being wrong. Another person wrote, “So about 1/3 of the Country is illegal aliens? The obvious increase only started in the past 15 yrs here in NY so this should be a good gage. Roads, stores, ERs, schools, public transportation, attractions very crowded. In the past year and 1/2 major reductions thanks to Trump.“
As the post continues to go viral on X, more and more people are leaving their frustrations and concerns in the comments section below the video.
