PHOENIX — High-speed pursuits tied to smuggling are down in Cochise County, a border county that at one point saw some of the highest border crime activity in the country.
Deputies were engaging in high-speed pursuits almost daily when activity peaked in 2023, with 234 pursuits in total logged that year, according to Cochise County Sheriff's Office data. Numbers have plummeted so far under President Donald Trump's administration, with only 17 such chases in 2025, so far.
Deputy Dan Brennan is wrapping up his final weeks with the county's Criminal Interdiction Unit. The unit, which launched during the Biden Administration, responded to a surge in human and drug smuggling across Arizona's southern border. Brennan is choosing to step away from the unit, transferring to the county's patrol duty.
"I'm just a purpose-driven individual and I like to put my efforts where I think they'll best be served," said Brennan. "Now, I'm kind of looking for the next way to serve our great citizens. And so if that's, you know, if that's back to investigating typical crimes? Then so be it."
The Criminal Interdiction Unit has seen a drop in smuggling activity since mid-2024, when then-President Joe Biden signed an executive order placing severe limitations on asylum requests. Brennan reports activity has dropped off a cliff under Trump.
"Without choosing a side, it's, it's clearly apparent that whatever changes were made were effective. I think that there is a growing sense that if you engage in this sort of crime that there will be real punishments," he said.
ABC15 rode with Brennan during the last month of the Biden Administration, when a chase ended with two suspected teenage smugglers running their car off the road and trying to escape into a field.
Since then, Brennan has spent his shifts looking for ways to fill his time. During ABC15's ride along in mid-April, that included issuing a ticket for children who weren't wearing seatbelts, warning a mother that her headlight was out, scanning roads for DUIs, and assisting with an arrest unrelated to immigration crimes.
"While there are still a few events, it's nothing like it was before," Brennan said, adding, "Quite frankly, we're looking for work."
It's not just Cochise. Across southern Arizona, the U.S. Border Patrol is also seeing fewer migrant encounters.
The Trump Administration's hardline policies are drawing legal fire, with federal judges warning of major due process violations. But as court cases play out, law enforcement at the border notices what's changed.
"The morale has improved," Brennan said. "Citizens aren't terrified to be out driving on our roadways... They're not worried about a car traveling through an intersection at 100 miles an hour and crashing into them."
