Documents just released by US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) in response to one of EFF’s Freedom of Information Act requests show that DHS
is considering collecting DNA from kids ages 14 and up—and is exploring
expanding its regulations to allow collection from kids younger than
that.
The proposal appears to be working its way through DHS in the wake of regulations from the Department of Justice that require
all federal agencies—including DHS and its components such as ICE—to
collect DNA from individuals arrested for federal crimes as well as
“from non-United States persons who are detained under the authority of
the United States,” whether or not they have been involved in criminal
activity. While the law specifically exempts a few classes
of “aliens,” the documents we received show DHS may start DNA
collection from anyone it fingerprints. Currently, that’s any child over 14 who’s detained, but we also found records that show ICE could lower that age even more.
DHS estimates that as many as 1 million people who are subject to administrative detention or arrest annually could now be subject to DNA collection. But it’s important to note that many of these people are not involved in criminal activity. Collecting
DNA from anyone detained by the government for any number of
non-criminal reasons—especially juveniles—seems to be yet another step
on the slippery slope to collecting DNA from everyone in the United
States, no matter their status.-[Full Article]
