The Trump Administration is Mandating DNA Database of Detained Migrants
More than 40,000 migrants are currently being held in federal detention centers (Image)
After a tumultuous summer at the southern border, characterized by mass apprehensions and overcrowded detention facilities, the Trump administration is seeking to expand the powers of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Oct. 2nd, the federal government announced plans to increase the use of DNA sampling on immigrants held in federal custody. The announcement detailed a Department of Justice regulation that would subject the over 40,000 detainees in federal custody to mandatory DNA tests.
This move comes after numerous agencies participated in a pilot program that used DNA testing to prove whether families who had been detained were legitimately related. Officers claimed that it was common practice for adults to claim children that were not theirs in order to circumvent certain immigration restrictions.
However, this new policy contains provisions that are far more drastic than a simple DNA comparison. Under the announced plan, the full genetic profiles of detained immigrants will be compiled and added to the Combined DNA Index System, an FBI database currently used by state and local governments to record DNA collected from accused criminals.
Like many of the Trump administration’s changes to national immigration policy, this initiative has proven controversial and sparked a debate on the constitutionality of involuntary DNA sampling.
Supporters of the policy view the use of genetic testing as the next logical step in bringing border enforcement into the 21st century. The comprehensive screening of all detainees will help ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies track undocumented migrants more closely long after they enter or leave the country.
Detractors of the policy view the authorization of genetic testing as a dangerous step in the wrong direction. The involuntary screening of detainees is a violation of basic privacy rights and establishes menacing precedent that would allow the unconstitutional surveillance of innocent individuals, including American citizens. In the past, ICE has been wrongfully detained American citizens at the border, and this new policy would allow ICE to infringe upon basic constitutional rights. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens against unwarranted searches and seizures, and those who are detained without reason would be subject to a gross violation of such protections if this policy were implemented.
Despite the constitutional argument against the proposed policy, there is indeed legal precedent that could support the Trump administration in their efforts. The DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005 mandates that law enforcement take genetic sampling from anyone kept in federal custody. Until recently, an Obama-era exemption has excluded detained immigrants from this law. However, Obama’s DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said at the time that such protections were only temporary, fueling current momentum to include detained immigrants in the CODIS database.
The Trump administration has not given a firm timeline for the upcoming expansion of the DNA sampling program, but changes will likely occur in the coming months. As for the debate over its constitutionality, it seems as if legal precedent and an anti-immigrant president will essentially silence any detractors for the time being, absent litigation.