The Biden administration will direct U.S. border agents to use greater discretion when deciding whether to engage in high-speed vehicle pursuits of suspected smugglers and drug traffickers, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Wednesday.
after the overloaded SUV carrying them collided with a tractor trailer. CBP officials said smugglers packed at least 25 migrants into a Ford Expedition with seating for eight. The vehicle’s 22-year-old driver was among those killed in the crash.
Wrecks are followed by wild “bailout” scenarios in which smugglers veer off the road and send migrants scattering in multiple directions. Some have been struck by passing vehicles or forced passing drivers to swerve out of the way and crash. CBP officials said their new directive brings the agency’s pursuit policies in line with the best practices of other large U.S. law enforcement agencies that have determined the public safety risks to high-speed chases often outweigh the potential benefits.U.S. agents generally barrel after suspected smugglers and migrants along rural highways and back roads near the border, especially if drivers ignore orders to pull over.
CBP said agents will be familiarized with the new guidelines over the next several months and the higher standard for what constitutes a reasonable decision to chase. The public safety threat of a particular suspect will be a factor, officials said, so that a suspected gang member or major narcotics trafficker would be a better candidate for a high-speed chase than migrants who are believed to be farmworkers, for example.
Officials said agents will be encouraged to rely on other tools to follow suspects when possible, such as helicopters and aerial surveillance equipment. The new measures are designed to avert crashes and recognize that migrants packed into overloaded vehicles often have little choice of how they travel when they are in the hands of smuggling organizations.
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