Troublesome DNA: Unjustified Collection and Questionable Use of Minors' Genetic Data
Immigration Authorities in the U.S. are incorporating the genetic information of children into a database for criminal identification purposes.
Let the injustice of detaining children, already a regrettable situation, be compounded with the unsettling fact that American immigration authorities are tacking on their DNA to a criminal database. Over the past five years, the U.S. has scooped up DNA samples from a staggering 130,000 minor detainees, including kids as tender as four-year-olds.
Since 2020, the US Customs and Border Patrol has been putting their foot harder on the accelerator in contributions to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). CODIS repositories DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scenes, and missing persons cases for use by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. The government retains the physical DNA samples indefinitely - with the exception of forensic ones - adding up to a whopping 23 million DNA profiles currently in the database, with an astounding 133,539 belonging to detained minors.
According to a report by Wired, immigration officers collected samples from between 829,000 and 2.8 million people from October 2020 to the end of 2024. This ramp-up came post 2020 regulatory updates removing exemptions for the Department of Homeland Security and questioned by the California Law Review as marking a first in the government's "widespread, permanent retention of genetic materials based solely on a status other than a criminal arrest or conviction."
To adhere to the DOJ's directives, CBP initiated a pilot program in the same year to collect more DNA samples from detained immigrants. Originally, CBP stated that samples would only be collected from individuals aged between 14 to 19. Regrettably, CBP personnel have exploited their discretion with respect to younger children. As reported by Wired, CBP obtained DNA samples from 227 children under the age of 13, with officers in El Paso, Texas even sending a sample from a four-year-old child to the FBI for processing.
Hilton Beckham, assistant commissioner of public affairs at CBP, was quoted by Wired, stating, "We are not letting human smugglers, child sex traffickers, and other criminals enter American communities. Toward this end, CBP collects DNA samples for submission to CODIS from person in CBP custody who are arrested on federal criminal charges, and from aliens detained under CBP's authority who are subject to fingerprinting and not otherwise exempt from the collection requirement."
However, Stephanie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy at Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology, expressed her dissatisfaction in an email to Gizmodo, "The revelation that CBP collected DNA from a 4-year-old and added it to CODIS brings the absurdity of the government's DNA program into sharp relief."
In a recent report, the Center revealed that CBP has added 1.5 million DNA profiles to CODIS since 2020, with these now stored under the "offender" label. Although ICE and CBP's number of collected samples has increased by 5,000 percent, these figures become more alarming when scrutinized over smaller timeframes - for instance, officers in Laredo, Texas submitted an astounding 3,930 DNA samples to the FBI, with 252 being listed as 17 or younger, all collected in a single day in January 2024.
Just two years ago, the FBI requested a significant increase in funding to maintain the system. With immigration authorities' contributions, CODIS is on track to continue ballooning exponentially. As Georgetown's report noted, there are several limitations on criminal law enforcement obtaining DNA samples. However, with immigrants, the only limitation is that they must be detained.
In their report, the Center pointed out that "the meaning of the term 'detained' in the immigration context is notoriously broad, vague, and ever-shifting. Unlike in the criminal legal systems, ICE and CBP agents do not have to get judicial authorization to detain someone. There is no process for checking to make sure that every time they do detain someone, they meet constitutional requirements."
Glaberson further commented, "No matter the age of the individuals compelled to hand over this most sensitive information, this program is morally bankrupt and unconstitutional. Collecting migrants' DNA like this serves no legitimate immigration purpose. What it does is place these individuals, their families, and communities under watch for life, and brings us all one huge step closer to genetic surveillance."
- Gizmodo reported the dissatisfaction of Stephanie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy at Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology, who expressed concern about the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) collecting DNA from a 4-year-old and adding it to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).
- The Center on Privacy and Technology's recent report revealed that CBP has added 1.5 million DNA profiles to CODIS since 2020, with these now stored under the "offender" label. They noted that the meaning of the term 'detained' in the immigration context is broad, vague, and ever-shifting, and there is no process for checking to ensure that constitutional requirements are met.
- In the future, with immigration authorities' contributions to CODIS, there are concerns that the system will continue to balloon exponentially. Glaberson commented that collecting migrants' DNA like this serves no legitimate immigration purpose and potentially leads to genetic surveillance, posing a threat to mental health and general health-and-wellness.
