DHS Launches DNA Testing Pilot Program for Migrants at Border
The so-called Rapid DNA testing is being touted as a way to combat human smuggling.
Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
The Department of Homeland Security is launching a DNA testing pilot program to be used on migrants at the Mexico border, CNN reports. The so-called Rapid DNA testing, which requires a cheek swab, will be used to determine whether people crossing the border with children and other family members are actually all related. The program—which will go through a test run for about two or three days at two separate parts of the border—is part of efforts by the Trump administration to address the surge of migrants at the border, and officials say the move is meant to curtail human smuggling. “This is part of a larger investigative process,” said Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Deputy Director Derek Benner, who called it “new ground” for the department. “This is not screenings, this is not just random application of this. This is a pilot designed to assess the usefulness of this technology in an investigative process.”
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