Illegal Border Crossings Today:

DOJ Publishes Rule to Collect DNA from Detained Illegal Aliens

Lab technician and lab forms

By Heather Ham-Warren |FAIR Take | October 2019

On Monday, October 21, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a notice of proposed rulemaking to begin fully complying with the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005 (the DNA Act) and restore the Attorney General’s authority to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to collect DNA samples from detained non-U.S. persons. The amended regulations will apply to almost all migrants who enter the United States illegally.

The DNA Act requires the federal government to collect DNA from all individuals in federal custody. However, an exemption for individuals in DHS custody—promulgated by the Obama administration— is still in effect today. As a result, according to FAIR research director Matt O’Brien, numerous aliens accused of violent crimes have been released into American communities; and alien smugglers have been able to exploit foreign children to benefit from detention rules favorable to alien parents with minor children.

These suggestions are supported by pilot programs that the Trump administration has implemented in recent months to catch fraud and criminal activity among asylum seekers. In Operations Double Helix 1.0 and 2.0, DHS discovered nearly 100 “family units” were not actually related at all. Additionally, in the Family First Initiative, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) discovered dozens of adults falsely presenting themselves as minors in El Paso, Texas.

“The proposed rule change would help to save lives and bring criminals to justice by restoring the authority of the Attorney General to authorize and direct the collection of DNA from non-United States persons detained at the border and the interior by DHS, with the ultimate goal of reducing victimization of innocent citizens,” said Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen.  “[This] proposed rule change is a lawful exercise of the Attorney General’s authority, provided by Congress, to collect DNA samples from non-United States persons who are properly detained under the authority of the United States.”

Under the rule change, DNA is expected to be obtained from 750,000 immigrants annually. However, the DNA will be stored as a “genetic fingerprint” that does “not disclose [an] individual’s traits, disorders, or dispositions.”

The proposed rule was officially published on Tuesday and will be open for public comment until November 11, 2019. To submit your comment on the proposed regulation please click here.