Miguel Afonso Caetano<p>"The United States government has collected DNA samples from upwards of 133,000 migrant children and teenagers—including at least one 4-year-old—and uploaded their genetic data into a national criminal database used by local, state, and federal law enforcement, according to documents reviewed by WIRED.</p><p>The records, quietly released by the US Customs and Border Protection earlier this year, offer the most detailed look to date at the scale of CBP’s controversial DNA collection program. They reveal for the first time just how deeply the government’s biometric surveillance reaches into the lives of migrant children, some of whom may still be learning to read or tie their shoes—yet whose DNA is now stored in a system originally built for convicted sex offenders and violent criminals.</p><p>WIRED has made this article free for all to read because it is based on reporting from Freedom of Information Act requests or public government documents. Please consider subscribing to support our journalism.</p><p>The Department of Justice has argued that extensive DNA collection activity at the border provides “an assessment of the danger” a migrant potentially “poses to the public” and will essentially help solve crimes that may be committed in the future. Experts say that the children’s raw genetic material will be stored indefinitely and worry that, without proper guardrails, the DNA dragnet could eventually be used for more extensive profiling.</p><p>Spanning from October 2020 through the end of 2024, the records show that CBP swabbed the cheeks of between 829,000 and 2.8 million people, with experts estimating that the true figure, excluding duplicates, is likely well over 1.5 million. That number includes as many as 133,539 children and teenagers. These figures mark a sweeping expansion of biometric surveillance—one that explicitly targets migrant populations, including children."</p><p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-dna-migrant-children-fbi-codis/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">wired.com/story/cbp-dna-migran</span><span class="invisible">t-children-fbi-codis/</span></a><br><a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/USA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USA</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/DNA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DNA</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Surveillance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Surveillance</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/DNA" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DNA</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/Immigration" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Immigration</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/PoliceState" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>PoliceState</span></a> <a href="https://tldr.nettime.org/tags/BorderControl" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BorderControl</span></a></p>