ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Chases Bordering on Lunacy

Getting a government bureaucracy to change is seldom easy. Often, it seems that results come only out of tragedy. That appears to be the case with the Border Patrol’s new restrictions on vehicular chases, issued less than two months after a 60-mile pursuit resulted in six deaths in Temecula.

The Border Patrol says it was already reassessing its chase policy when the accident happened. It should have been. In the 12 years before the Temecula crash, similar chases had resulted in at least 21 deaths.

The new guidelines, how- ever belated, are welcome. They require agents to more carefully balance the need for vehicular pursuits against the threat to safety. Essentially, agents must answer a single question: Is it worth risking human life to apprehend someone who has illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexican border?

Under the revised policy, that decision is ultimately left to a supervisor who must be notified immediately when a chase is begun. That’s far preferable to continuing to give too much responsibility to agents whose judgment may be questionable in the heat of a chase. Supervisors are also required to notify law enforcement agencies in nearby jurisdictions so the agencies can assist in the chase--or at least prepare for it.

The Border Patrol deserves credit for drafting these constructive reforms. But when the House subcommittee on government information, justice and agriculture convenes Thursday to assess the problem, it must address a larger question: Is there really any justification for spending scarce federal resources chasing illegal migrants 60 miles from the border? Especially if it means high-speed cat-and-mouse games in densely populated communities?

The usefulness of freeway checkpoints just south of San Clemente and Temecula is questionable--and their dangers undeniable. The migrant-packed van that sheared a car in half in Temecula was apparently trying to avoid the checkpoint. And Orange County has long been plagued by similar dangers spawned by the San Clemente checkpoint. The real lesson of Temecula is that primary enforcement of border law must be done at the border itself.