Overview
- Since a 2020 DOJ rule change, CBP and ICE have contributed more than 1.5 million DNA profiles to CODIS, representing a 5,000 percent surge in submissions.
- Samples include children as young as four, with over 133,000 minors’ genetic profiles added under a policy that covers all detainees.
- Georgetown Law Center on Privacy & Technology and allied groups filed a FOIA-driven lawsuit seeking details on how DHS collects, stores and uses migrant DNA.
- Profiles are stored indefinitely in CODIS under an “offender” label and can be accessed by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
- The DNA program is part of a broader surveillance framework supported by DHS partnerships with tech firms such as Palantir.