Border Patrol has started its 'small-scale' DNA collection program

U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched a "limited, small-scale" pilot program Monday to collect DNA from a select group of people in immigration custody as part of the Trump administration's plan to curb immigration via biometrics, The New York Times reports.

Under the program, which was proposed in October and is reportedly set to last for 90 days, Border Patrol will collect DNA from migrants between 14 and 79 years old who are either apprehended in the Detroit area or those detained at the Eagle Pass Port of Entry in Texas. The collections would then head to a massive criminal database run by the FBI.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.