Controversy Over DNA Samples From Immigrant Detainees

The Houston Chronicle offers an update on the Bush administration’s efforts to implement a plan to collect DNA samples from federal detainees starting Dec. 31, amid an outcry by immigrant advocacy organizations. Last spring, the U.S. Department of Justice published a proposed regulation that set the December deadline to start collecting DNA from an estimated 1.2 million people arrested each year by federal agents, including hundreds of thousands of immigrants detained along the nation’s borders. The DNA samples would then be added to the FBI’s national DNA database, which contains the genetic codes of millions of convicted felons. Supporters say the increase in federal DNA collection would help law enforcement. In contrast, immigrant rights organizations have questioned the legality and fairness of collecting and storing people’s unique genetic makeup when they are merely under suspicion of a crime or immigration violation.

KJ