The genetic information of people arrested for civil immigration violations is being entered into the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), reports WIRED. The database, which contains DNA profiles collected from crime scenes as well as from individuals convicted or arrested for a crime, is used for criminal investigations by law agencies across the USA.
Research by Georgetown Law's Centre on Privacy and Technology suggests that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), is now the largest single contributor to CODIS. It estimates that ICE could have provided nearly a million DNA profiles in 2025 alone.
DHS confirmed to US representatives Joaquin Castro, Greg Stanton, and Nanette Barragán that DNA from children aged 14 and over may be collected by ICE, shared with the FBI and entered into CODIS. However, evidence reviewed by WIRED shows that the FBI has received the genetic information of at least 492 children younger than that.
Stevie Glaberson, research director at Georgetown Law's Centre on Privacy and Technology and a coauthor of the report, told WIRED: 'The Fourth Amendment categorically prohibits the government from compelling you, without suspicion, to hand over your sensitive information on the speculation that it might be helpful for crime-solving in the future.'
In March 2025, an attorney from ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Advisor shared in an email to various ICE officials that the 'primary purpose' of DHS's DNA-collection authority is 'to build a national DNA database for solving crimes.' ICE did not respond to WIRED's inquiry to confirm this statement.
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