The Movie That Inspired Greg Bovino

The disgraced commander says 1982's The Border led him to pursue a career in border patrol. Like so many other things in his now-infamous career, he got it all wrong.

View in Browser  Tuesday, February 03, 2026 For the unimaginable violence he has overseen in Minneapolis, Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino will live in infamy. Though he's now sidelined, the aftermath of his time leading immigration enforcement in the city continues to play out in courts, in homes, and in the streets, as people continue to protest. You can't help but wonder: How did he get this way? While reading The New York Times interview with Bovino from November, Anthony Breznican noticed a telling detail: Bovino admitted that a Jack Nicholson movie inspired him to pursue his chosen career. Below, Breznican will tell you exactly why—surprise, surprise—Bovino completely misunderstood the film. – Brady Langmann, senior entertainment editor Plus: Our power-mad president wants to change how we vote forever Here's your 2026 Winter Olympics streaming guide 13 best pre–Presidents' Day sales at Patagonia Gregory Bovino Was Formed by a Jack Nicholson Movie. If Only He Heeded Its Lesson. The disgraced commander says 1982's The Border led him to pursue a career in border patrol. Like so many other things in his now-infamous career, he got it all wrong. He has now been dismissed in disgrace, but history will not soon forget Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino. The world will be haunted by images of him striding smugly through the snowy streets of Minneapolis and the crowded corridors of a Target department store as immigration officers ran roughshod over the city in reckless pursuit of the undocumented, killing two protesters and terrorizing the nation at large. But who was this bizarre, malignant figure? His own interviews and comments from family members say his origin story involves, of all things … a movie. READ THE STORY All the high-tech secrets hiding inside your sunglasses. From filters and coatings to tints and dyes, Tim Newcomb reveals how brands are continuously innovating your eyewear. >> The DOJ is about to embark on Trump's vengeance safari. Pam Bondi has said that the "Weaponization Working Group" is going to meet every day to investigate, well, the people who previously investigated the president.  Charles P. Pierce weighs in. >> 4 Types of Boots That'll Never Go out of Style This story was assigned to me as winter boot trends for 2026. I'm not really going to do that. Why? Because winter boots are, by definition, off trend. They're supremely functional. Sorel Caribous, L.L. Bean boots, and Blundstones are the best winter boots now, and they'll be the best tomorrow. What I'm doing here is giving you fashion options. What boots should a man, a man who takes some amount of pride in how he looks, own? And sorry to be one-note, but I'm also going to tell you to avoid the "trends" here.  By Luke Guillory The Best Movies from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival The final Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, sounded like a bummer. The ghost of the festival's late founder, Robert Redford, loomed over every film premiere, and the story I heard from festivalgoers who attended in person was that it felt like the last Sundance ever. It isn't! The annual film festival will return next year in Boulder, Colorado. But for an event that usually showcases fiery new filmmakers to kick off the beginning of another year in film, Sundance 2026 was mostly a somber affair. The slate of films this year is partially to blame. Sundance's best offerings and award winners—Josephine, Shame and Money, and American Doctor—featured heavy stories about seeking justice for rape victims, the struggles of displaced families, and the doctors on the front lines of the conflict in Gaza, respectively. Important viewing, no doubt, but difficult to sit through. They're not exactly the kinds of projects Hollywood is looking for to fill theaters this year, even if they say a lot about the state of independent filmmaking in 2026. By Josh Rosenberg Follow Us Unsubscribe | Manage Preferences | Privacy Notice | CA Notice at Collection Esquire is a publication of Hearst Magazines. ©2026 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent by Hearst Magazines, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019-3779