(NewsNation) — Gregory Bovino, the former Border Patrol commander-at-large who was the face of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, has launched an exploratory committee to explore a presidential run in 2028, NewsNation has confirmed.

Bovino, who retired in March after nearly 30 years with the Border Patrol, told NewsNation on Monday that his possible White House run is exploratory “at the time” but said he will move ahead with a formal campaign “if it all comes together.”

Bovino’s exploratory committee launched the website “Bovino2028.com”, which features an image of Bovino wearing a controversial coat that has been described by some as a Nazi-era coat. Bovino previously told NewsNation that the Border Patrol issued the coat and that he has owned it for more than 25 years.

Photos of Bovino wearing the coat have gone viral amid growing criticism around Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics and the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in January, California Gov. Gavin Newsom described the coat as being “SS garb.”

The logo on the website reads, “House Bovino – Men Fight Back.”

“Following the Commander’s maximum effectiveness in quelling the foreign hordes that have subsumed our nation’s cities, both large and small, the American people witnessed what true leadership, powered by a warrior mindset, actually looks like as The Commander endeavored to restore order and national sovereignty,” the website reads under a headline of “A bold national strategy.”

The Daily Beast was the first to report Bovino’s possible political run. The outlet included a statement from Bovino that stated, “If I were President, I’d lead that (deportation) effort from the front and be on the front lines from time to time.”

Since retiring, Bovino has remained critical of the Department of Homeland Security’s approach to the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Bovino, who launched his own X account after his official Customs and Border Protection account was shuttered after he left the agency, has remained a staunch defender of mass deportation as the only option for true border security.

He has taken shots at DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, accusing the former Oklahoma Republican U.S. senator of “holding back” Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers assigned to an ICE detention center in New Jersey. Delaney Hall has been the site of recent clashes between federal immigration officers and demonstrators protesting against the conditions in which detainees are being kept.

Bovino criticized Mullin for not allowing ICE officers to use tear gas against protesters, which was a common practice used by Bovino during the immigration enforcement operations he oversaw in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis.

Asked specifically about Bovino’s criticism, Mullin responded, “I’ve never met the guy …he’s irrelevant to me. I don’t know who he is.”

Bovino was removed from his role as commander-at-large in January after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal immigration agents and officers in Minneapolis.

White House border czar Tom Homan took over the operation and immediately said he was not there for sound bites or on-camera appearances, which had also been a staple of Bovino’s time overseeing the operations. Bovino also criticized Homan for his softer approach to immigration enforcement, saying he “did nothing” after the death of Chicago college student Sheridan Gorman, who was allegedly shot and killed by a Venezuelan national living in Chicago.

Bovino has also used his social media platform to attack other Trump administration officials, including Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, whom he accused of “pushing to dial it back and water down mass deportations”.

Bovino alleges that there are 100 million immigrants living illegally in the United States, which is a much larger figure than other federal agencies have suggested.

Jeff Arnold is a national immigration enterprise reporter for NewsNation Digital, covering immigration-related issues from the border to cities across the country. Send him story ideas at tips.newsnationdigital@gmail.com.