Border patrol agents stationed near Tucson, Ariz., can no longer intercept drunk drivers along the highways that funneled more than a million pounds of drugs into the country last year.
Department of Homeland Security officials ordered the more than 4,000 agents who patrol the Tucson sector to “allow [drunk drivers] to go on their way” because driving under the influence is a state crime, according to an internal memo first obtained by the right-leaning non-profit Judicial Watch.
“If you allow this driver to continue down the road and they kill someone, aren’t you liable?” the document asked border patrol agents before informing them that they would not be liable in such situations.
Border patrol agents have resisted the order, which discourages them from apprehending potentially dangerous drivers in one of the most crime-ridden areas of the southern border, Judicial Watch claimed it was told by unnamed sources.
The Tucson Sector Border Patrol unit made 87,915 arrests last year, including apprehensions of individuals involved with international gangs and charged with felonies like rape and child molestation, according to Customs and Border Protection figures.
Tucson-based agents also intercepted 971,180 pounds of marijuana and scores of cocaine, heroine and other illicit drugs last year.
The DHS directive acknowledged that a border patrol agent apprehending drunk drivers would still be “acting within the course and scope of his employment.”
Citing the risk of inviting a lawsuit on officers or the agency itself, the document warned agents to avoid detaining a suspected drunk driver unless asked to do so by state or local law enforcement.
Border patrol agents, who are tasked with screening the Tucson sector for potentially harmful materials or people as they pass from Mexico into the U.S., are among several classes of law enforcement officers that can legally detain a drunk driver.
Arizona state law permits private citizens to arrest drunk drivers.
