DHS Faces New Pressure Over DNA Taken From Immigrant Children
1 min read
Summary
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden has written to the US Departments of Justice and Homeland Security (DHS), demanding an explanation for the collection of DNA from immigrants, including children, for the FBI’s CODIS database.
He expressed concern that the Trump administration had expanded the practice without providing basic information on its scope, legality, or oversight and criticised its lack of justification for the permanent collection of DNA from migrant children.
Recent data obtained via a FOIA request showed the DHS obtained genetic samples from approximately 133,000 migrant children and teenagers.
The samples are now held indefinitely in CODIS, a system designed to retain genetic crime-scene data.
Over 70% of minors whose DNA was collected were citizens of Mexico, Venezuela, Cuba, and Haiti.
The surveillance expert Anthony Enriquez from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights highlighted how immigrants are frequently targeted for biometric data collection because they lack political power.
