US Customs and Border Protection illegally collected DNA from citizens
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Between 2020 and 2024, US Customs and Border Protection collected DNA from nearly 2,000 US citizens, including minors, and shared it with the FBI database, often without criminal charges or judicial oversight.
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Members of the US Customs and Border Protection Police patrol Union Station, Thursday, August 28, 2025, in Washington (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
A new report has revealed that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collected the DNA of nearly 2,000 US citizens between 2020 and 2024, many of whom faced no criminal charges. The samples were then shared with the FBI and stored in its nationwide database, raising alarm among privacy advocates.
One case highlighted involved a 25-year-old US citizen stopped at Chicago’s Midway airport in March 2021. Though not charged with any crime, the individual was subjected to a cheek swab, and their DNA was added to the FBI’s system.
According to data analyzed by Georgetown’s Center on Privacy and Technology, some of the DNA came from minors as young as 14.
Read more: US 'genetic surveillance': Children targeted, DNA sent to FBI
Citizens targeted without charges or judicial oversight
The report shows that CBP agents sometimes took DNA samples from citizens for civil, not criminal, infractions, such as failure to declare purchased goods. In at least two cases, agents listed only “inspection by immigration officer” as the justification.
“In a flagrant and alarming abuse of power, the DHS has been regularly collecting DNA from US citizens without legal justification,” said Stevie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy at Georgetown’s privacy center. “This violates the Fourth Amendment.”
About 865 of the nearly 2,000 cases involved citizens against whom no federal charges were filed, meaning there was no judicial review of the DNA collection.
Thousands of DNA samples sent to FBI database
Once collected, DNA samples were entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a nationwide database used by law enforcement to identify criminal suspects. Privacy experts warn that this practice extends surveillance far beyond its legal scope.
The database already includes the genetic material of around 133,000 migrant teens and children, collected and stored by CBP, according to a separate Georgetown report published in May 2024.
Read more: Trump's immigration crackdown pushes detentions to record highs
Advocacy groups argue that the practice represents a major threat to privacy rights in the United States, allowing sensitive genetic information to be used without citizens’ consent or judicial oversight.
“DNA data reveals intimate family connections. By placing it in a criminal database, citizens could be swept into investigations they would otherwise have no part in,” Glaberson explained.
Border authorities’ expanding role in surveillance
Under current law, US border authorities are permitted to collect DNA from non-citizens who are detained and from individuals who have been arrested or convicted of crimes. However, the recent disclosures show that CBP lacks safeguards to prevent overreach into the rights of US citizens.
Critics warn that this unchecked surveillance blurs the line between border security and domestic policing.
The findings have intensified calls for stronger oversight of US Customs and Border Protection and the US Department of Homeland Security. Civil liberties advocates stress that reforms are needed to ensure federal agencies cannot collect or share citizens’ DNA without a clear legal basis.
“If you think that your status as a citizen protects you from authoritarian practices, this is proof that it does not,” Glaberson said.
