TL;DR: In 2023 ICE collected DNA from close to one million people – many of them children – and fed the samples into the FBI's CODIS system, sparking a legal battle over privacy, consent, and the future of immigration enforcement.
The United States' immigration agency has taken a dramatic step into the world of genetic surveillance. By the end of last year, ICE had amassed DNA swabs from roughly 970,000 individuals in its custody, ranging from adults awaiting deportation to toddlers held in detention centers. Those samples were uploaded to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a database traditionally reserved for solving violent crimes.
The Scale of the DNA Sweep
ICE's DNA-collection program began as a pilot in 2019. By 2023 the agency was gathering cheek swabs from virtually every person processed at its facilities, then extracting genetic markers and uploading profiles to CODIS. CODIS, which houses DNA from roughly 17 million crime-scene samples, now includes profiles from a population never meant to be part of a criminal-justice database — including a significant number of children under five.
Legal and Ethical Fallout
Civil-rights groups argue the program violates Fourth and Fifth Amendment protections. A coalition of NGOs filed a class-action lawsuit claiming ICE lacked proper consent protocols. DHS asserts the collection is voluntary and for national-security purposes, but critics note detainees have little real choice. State legislators in several jurisdictions have introduced bills to ban transferring immigration-related DNA to CODIS.
Takeaway: ICE's DNA collection effort blurs the line between immigration enforcement and criminal policing, raising profound questions about consent and privacy as lawsuits and legislative battles continue.
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