S.T.O.P. Condemns Federal DNA Database Targeting Immigrant Children

The civil rights group condemned the DNA database as an appalling expansion of federal genetic surveillance...

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Condemns Federal DNA Database Targeting Immigrant Children (New York, NY 6/3/2025) – Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, condemns U.S. Customs and Border Protection for collecting the DNA of over 130,000 immigrant children and adding it to a criminal database overseen by the FBI. According to reporting by WIRED, the widespread DNA collection began in 2020 and has targeted children as young as four-years-old. The civil rights group condemned the DNA database as an appalling expansion of federal genetic surveillance that will expedite the Trump administration’s policy of mass deportations. SEE: WIRED - The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database https://www.wired.com/story/cbp-dna-migrant-children-fbi-codis/ Gizmodo - U.S. Immigration Authorities Are Adding Children’s DNA To a Criminal Database https://gizmodo.com/u-s-immigration-authorities-are-adding-childrens-dna-to-a-criminal-database-2000610025 “CBP has decided that even the cells of kids as young as four aren’t off limits,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Communications Director Will Owen.  “No one of any age should have their DNA tracked for life, and this is a terrifying escalation of genetic surveillance on a national scale. It serves no purpose other than to criminalize both children and adults who have done nothing wrong, reinforcing the Trump administration's lawless targeting of immigrant communities." SEE: The Daily Beast - Cops Might Already Have Your DNA, Without Your Consent https://www.thedailybeast.com/cops-might-already-have-your-dna-without-your-consent/ Last summer, S.T.O.P. released Genetic Surveillance: The NYPD’s Rogue DNA Database, a report detailing how the NYPD illegally maintains its independent DNA database. The year prior, the civil rights group released Guilt by Association: How Police Databases Punish Black and Latinx Youth, a report detailing the unconstitutional surveillance of young people—the vast majority Black and Latinx young men—through law enforcement databases. In 2020, S.T.O.P.'s Executive Director Albert Fox Cahn testified on NYPD DNA collection and storage before the Committee on Public Safety in the New York City Council. SEE: Press Release - S.T.O.P. Report Shows Police Databases Punish Black and Latinx Youth https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2023/9/5/mlvs5t7wvl0mizkbzaxtkk248v6426?rq=guilt%20by%20association Press Release - S.T.O.P. Report Details Illegality Of NYPD DNA Database https://www.stopspying.org/latest-news/2024/6/27/stop-report-details-illegality-of-nypd-dna-database?rq=DNA%20database Public Testimony of Albert Fox Cahn on DNA Collection and Storage in NYC https://www.stopspying.org/testimony-1/2021/3/8/public-testimony-of-albert-fox-cahn-on-dna-collection-and-storage-in-nyc The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   -- END -- Copyright © 2025 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.