United States immigration authorities collected the DNA of nearly one million migrants in 2025, placing hundreds of young children and undocumented adults into a federal criminal database, newly analysed government records show.
A 2020 policy change removed previous administrative exemptions, turning civil immigration detention into a major source of forensic DNA collection. Internal documents obtained by Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement, together with Customs and Border Protection, sharply expanded DNA swabbing of people in their custody.