The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database

The United States authorities has collected DNA samples from upwards of 133,000 migrant children and teenagers—including astatine slightest 1 4-year-old—and uploaded their familial information into a nationalist criminal database utilized by local, state, and national rule enforcement, according to documents reviewed by WIRED.

The records, softly released by nan US Customs and Border Protection earlier this year, connection nan astir elaborate look to day astatine nan standard of CBP’s arguable DNA postulation program. They uncover for nan first clip conscionable really profoundly nan government’s biometric surveillance reaches into nan lives of migrant children, immoderate of whom whitethorn still beryllium learning to publication aliases necktie their shoes—yet whose DNA is now stored successful a strategy primitively built for convicted activity offenders and convulsive criminals.

The Department of Justice has based on that extended DNA postulation activity astatine nan separator provides “an appraisal of nan danger” a migrant perchance “poses to nan public” and will fundamentally thief lick crimes that whitethorn beryllium committed successful nan future. Experts opportunity that nan children’s earthy familial worldly will beryllium stored indefinitely and interest that, without due guardrails, nan DNA dragnet could yet beryllium utilized for much extended profiling.

Spanning from October 2020 done nan extremity of 2024, nan records show that CBP swabbed nan cheeks of betwixt 829,000 and 2.8 cardinal people, pinch experts estimating that nan existent figure, excluding duplicates, is apt good complete 1.5 million. That number includes arsenic galore arsenic 133,539 children and teenagers. These figures people a sweeping description of biometric surveillance—one that explicitly targets migrant populations, including children.

The DNA samples are registered successful nan Combined DNA Index System, aliases CODIS, a database administered by nan FBI, which processes nan DNA and stores nan resulting familial profiles. A web of criminal forensic databases, CODIS is utilized by local, state, and national enforcement agencies to lucifer DNA collected from crime scenes aliases convictions to place suspects.

On May 10, 2024, for instance, records opportunity that CBP agents from nan El Paso, Texas, section agency collected a DNA sample from nan rima of an individual successful its custody whom CBP identified arsenic Cuban and who was detained for allegedly being an “immigrant w/o docs.” Swabbing nan individuals’ cheek, nan agents obtained a DNA sample containing nan individual's full familial codification and past sent nan sample to nan FBI for processing.

According to CBP records, nan individual was conscionable 4 years old.

Of nan tens of thousands of minors whose DNA was collected by Customs and Border Protection complete nan past 4 years, arsenic galore arsenic 227 were 13 aliases younger, including nan 4-year-old. Department of Homeland Security argumentation states that individuals nether 14 are mostly exempt from DNA collection, but section officers person nan discretion to cod DNA successful immoderate circumstances. The information shows further entries for kids aged 10, 11, 12, and 13. The numbers spike opening astatine property 14; much than 30,000 entries were logged for each property group from 14 to 17.

Under existent rules, DNA is mostly collected from anyone who is besides fingerprinted. According to DHS policy, 14 is nan minimum property astatine which fingerprinting becomes routine.

As galore arsenic 122 minors were categorized arsenic American citizens, 53 of whom were not detained for immoderate criminal arrest, CBP records say. (People asking to participate nan United States to use for asylum are put successful civilian alternatively than criminal custody.)

Neither DHS nor CBP provided remark up of publication.