Gregory Bovino, a U.S. Border Patrol chief in Southern California, marked “Star Wars Day” with a social media post featuring a “Border Wars” trailer that casts the El Centro Sector Border Patrol as Darth Vader battling “fake news,” sanctuary cities, fentanyl, human traffickers and cartel terrorists.

“Even Darth Vader knows the importance of border security!!!!!!” Bovino wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.

Newsweek has reached out to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) for comment via email on Sunday.

Why It Matters

For much of Star Wars, Darth Vader serves as a Sith Lord largely leading the oppressive Galactic Empire and battling those who resist tyranny. Though portrayed as a villain for majority of the series, he ultimately seeks redemption at the end of the original trilogy.

President Donald Trump campaigned on illegal immigration and has pledged to launch the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. Since taking office just over 100 days ago, his administration has detained and deported thousands of people. Through executive orders, Trump has expanded CBP’s authority by broadening expedited removal procedures, allowing deportations without court hearings, and directing increases in hiring for Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Bovino is the chief agent of The El Centro Sector, which has four Border Patrol stations, Centro, Calexico, Indio, and Riverside, and is responsible for 70 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border.

What To Know

In a Sunday social media post marking May 4, celebrated as “Star Wars Day” in a play on the phrase “May the Force Be With You,” Bovino shared a video trailer of an edited Star Wars scene.

The over 1-minute-long video clip depicts “episode one: Border Patrol Strikes Back.” The scene features Darth Vader, who is dubbed the “Premier Sector,” in reference to Bovino’s El Centro Sector, fighting rebels identified as various kinds of drugs, human traffickers, sanctuary cities, “fake news,”cartel terrorists, and an “invasion.”

Trump and his supporters have used the word “invasion” to describe illegal immigration to the U.S. The president has made combating drug cartels one of his immigration-related priorities. He reportedly proposed deploying U.S. troops inside Mexico to dismantle cartels, an offer Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum firmly rejected, telling Trump, “our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale.”

The president campaigned heavily on immigration and the economy, at times linking the two in his policy proposals. He imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China in an effort to curb fentanyl production and trafficking.

Prominent MAGA figures have repeatedly accused legacy media outlets of spreading “fake news,” a phrase Trump has long used to dismiss critical coverage. His second term has been marked by a strained relationship with the press, including changes to the White House press pool and several media-related lawsuits.

In February, agents in the El Centro Sector seized approximately $213,000 worth of narcotics at an immigration checkpoint, including 17.5 pounds of cocaine and 8 pounds of methamphetamine.

As of CBP data for March, there have been 11,017 land border encounters, a 94 percent drop compared to March 2024. It is not clear how many of those occurred in El Centro Sector.

Meanwhile, Bovino was named in a lawsuit brought by United Farm Workers and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenging the legality of a recent immigration roundup in California in which 78 people were arrested.

Earlier this week, federal judge Jennifer L. Thurston in California issued a preliminary injunction barring Border Patrol agents “from conducting detentive stops in this District unless, pre-stop, the detaining agent has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is a noncitizen who is present within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law, as required by the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” according to court documents reviewed by Newsweek.

The judge also ordered, “Any Border Patrol agent who conducts a detentive stop in this District SHALL, as soon as practicable, document the facts and circumstances surrounding the stop in a narrative form.”

Bovino’s post wasn’t the only border-related message from a government spokesperson on Sunday.

The White House shared an artificial intelligence (AI)-generated image of Trump holding a red lightsaber—a weapon commonly associated with the dark side in the Star Wars universe.

What People Are Saying

The White House said in an X post on Sunday: “Happy May the 4th to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting so hard to to bring Sith Lords, Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, & well known MS-13 Gang Members, back into our Galaxy. You’re not the Rebellion—you’re the Empire. May the 4th be with you.”

Harry Sisson, a liberal political social media influencer, replied to the White House’s post on Sunday: “If Trump carries a red lightsaber, that means he’s part of the Sith and is evil. Fitting!”

Chase Oliver, 2024 Libertarian presidential nominee, responded to the White House’s post: “You tweet this out while you try to blockade and tax free trade routes like the villains in Episode 1. You are manufacturing reasons for war to bolster your own power like the villains of Episode 2. You are seeking to take power from the legislature and concentrate that power into a single man like the villain of Episode 3. I can go on and on, but the truth is, in the hearts of Star Wars fans, we know who the Empire is and who the fights for the Rebellion. Trump is less of a Sith Lord and more like a Hutt gangster.”

What Happens Next?

Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration remains a top priority for his administration.