DNA Testing Being Conducted on Separated Immigrant Children, Parents

Federal officials are conducting DNA tests on immigrant children and parents to reunite families separated by the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” policy, according to a CNN report. An immigration lawyer told the outlet that her clients were approached by men in blue military uniforms who performed blood and saliva tests. It is not clear how long the testing has been happening, if the process requires consent, or if the biological data will be stored in a database. Jennifer Falcon, a communications director for RAICES, a immigration advocacy organization, told the outlet the DNA samples could make it easy for the government to surveil these children for “the rest of their lives.” Over 2,000 immigrant children are still separated from their families and in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, according to the latest information released by the Department of Health and Human Services.