The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has come under scrutiny for its practices involving the collection of DNA from U.S. citizens. A new report from Georgetown’s Center on Privacy and Technology breaks that positive streak with some deeply disturbing news. From 2020 to 2024, the CBP collected DNA profile data from nearly 2000 U.S. citizens. This highly sensitive genetic data has been shared with the FBI, prompting grave concerns about privacy and legal justification.
The results indicated that in a minimum of 865 instances, federal law enforcement never charged those U.S. citizens whose DNA was taken. This leaves many questioning whether DNA is being used appropriately in these cases. Another case was a lawyer in her mid-30s who was detained without cause by border patrol officers at Chicago’s Midway Airport on March 2021. Although the person was subjected to a cheek swab to collect DNA, no charges were issued against the individual.
The ensuing furor affected the almost 40 U.S. citizens who had CBP taken DNA samples from. This occurred despite the fact that they had never been convicted of any crime. As an aside, in a couple instances we did collect these samples in response to a minor civil infraction. Illustration of a “failure to declare”— when someone accidentally doesn’t declare an item they bought overseas.
What we found in that report was shocking. In at least one other incident, CBP agents specifically cited “inspection by immigration officer” as the reason behind swabbing a citizen’s DNA. This practice invites scrutiny not only regarding the transparency but the legality of such collection methods.
The CBP has consistently collected DNA information from every migrant it detains, leading to initial estimates indicating that sensitive genetic information from about 133,000 teens and children may have been uploaded to a federal criminal database indefinitely. Alarmingly, six of these had their DNA collected despite being minors.
As privacy rights advocate Stevie Glaberson explained, these practices represent a huge threat to civil liberties.
“In a flagrant and alarming abuse of power, the DHS has been regularly collecting DNA from U.S. citizens without legal justification,” – Stevie Glaberson.
Glaberson underscored the importance of this data, noting that it’s unique in that it comes directly from CBP’s administrative records.
“This is CBP’s own administrative data,” – Stevie Glaberson.
According to opponents, the absence of any sort of judicial oversight around these collections violates constitutional due process guarantees.
“The lack of checks on DHS’s collection power we think renders the program unconstitutional and violates the Fourth Amendment,” – Stevie Glaberson.
Of all the issues Glaberson brought to light, this was perhaps the most significant. Most people in these procedures will never have their case seen by a judge.
“None of these folks necessarily go before a judge to get the legality of detention and arrest reviewed,” – Stevie Glaberson.
The implications of these findings are profound. Critics are already sounding the alarm about what could be an unprecedented abuse of power. Yet they fear that national security efforts might undermine these civil liberties. Gathering DNA from people not charged with a crime issues profound ethical concerns. Most notably, it undermines our existing privacy rights and demands more intensive government oversight.
Debates over privacy and civil liberties are always shifting. As a direct result, agencies like the federal CBP will come under high stake public scrutiny. As this Georgetown University report details, it’s critical to balance any security measures with the rights of individuals. It is a precious reminder that we too must, somehow, achieve that balance.