The Unsettling Expansion of Government DNA Collection

A recent report from Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology reveals that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may have added as many as 920,000 genetic profiles to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in a single year. This staggering number dwarfs the approximately 75,000 profiles sent by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), bringing the total new DNA profiles added in 2025 to over 1 million.

The vast majority of people detained by ICE have no criminal conviction – they are merely accused of being undocumented immigrants. Yet their genetic material is being stored alongside evidence from violent crimes, raising questions about what this means for our collective security and individual freedoms.

In 2005, Congress authorized federal agencies to collect DNA from individuals arrested, charged, convicted, or detained under federal authority. However, regulations exempted many people held in immigration custody until 2020, when the Justice Department eliminated the exemption and ICE issued Directive 10092.1, requiring officers to collect DNA from nearly everyone in their custody.

The ostensible justification for this expansion – border security and identification – rings hollow when confronted with the reality that children are being swabbed for DNA in family detention centers. This stark reminder of the program’s true intent reveals a disturbing trend: treating undocumented immigrants as potential suspects rather than human beings deserving dignity and respect.

The implications extend far beyond immigration policy. If the government can collect our DNA with impunity, where does this leave us? The notion of genetic surveillance raises fundamental questions about what it means to be a citizen in a democratic society. When the state can access our most intimate biological data without consent or clear justification, we are effectively surrendering our individual rights.

A precedent for this trend exists: In 2009, the Supreme Court ruled in District Attorney’s Office for the Third Judicial District v. Osborne that individuals have no constitutional right to possess their own genetic material. This decision legitimized the practice of collecting and storing DNA without consent, setting a troubling precedent for future surveillance efforts.

As we move forward, it is essential to ask what this means for our collective security and individual freedoms. If the government can collect DNA with such ease, what other forms of surveillance will follow? How will we balance the need for national security against the risk of abusing technology that could be used to control or exploit us?

The stakes are high, and it is time for policymakers to step up and address these concerns. We must demand greater transparency about how this data is being collected and stored – including who has access to it and under what circumstances. A thorough examination of the laws governing DNA collection, including the 2005 legislation that authorized federal agencies to collect genetic material, is also necessary.

The time for complacency is over. It’s time to confront the unsettling reality of government DNA collection head-on and fight for our fundamental rights in this era of heightened surveillance.