{"id":2678,"date":"2024-05-20T22:21:50","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T02:21:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/?page_id=2678"},"modified":"2026-08-03T07:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T11:36:36","slug":"raiding-the-genome","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/research\/raiding-the-genome\/","title":{"rendered":"Raiding the Genome: How the United States Government Is Abusing Its Immigration Powers to Amass DNA for Future Policing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Raiding the Genome: How the United States Government Is Abusing Its Immigration Powers to Amass DNA for Future Policing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> explains and analyzes the drastic expansion of DNA collection at the Department of Homeland Security. DHS\u2019s DNA collection program operates with essentially no oversight, and the DNA taken is used for future criminal policing and prosecution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Read the original 2024 report, 2025 and 2026 updates, and issue-specific briefs, and explore statistics about the program, below: <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Publications:\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>**NEW**<\/b><b> Update: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">July 2026 (Actualizaci\u00f3n: julio de 2026) (<a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1nIsLud1VJjyNSA6_LEISs6mYtxVssRuJ\/view?usp=drive_link\"><strong>ENG<\/strong><\/a>) (ESP pr\u00f3ximamente)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Issue Brief: <\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Raiding the (U.S. Citizen) Genome<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (published September 2025) (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1n_3EX9QQzWX599UWy00-DtWh8sZyg65v\/view?usp=drive_link\"><b>ENG)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0(<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/16JYGLZ7oA4KlklUEEbYHQQzMcHCkpCWK\/view?usp=drive_link\"><b>ESP<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Update to original report:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> July 2025 (Actualizaci\u00f3n: julio de 2025) (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1LLDKWJahEN2Tjt9EKH6X4r59-aTu_VI1\/view?usp=drive_link\"><b>ENG<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/18al_bwnK3ESA_bCe-YG_m8ybuIsx942C\/view?usp=drive_link\"><b>ESP<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Original report (ENG):<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Raiding the Genome: How the United States Government Is Abusing Its Immigration Powers to Amass DNA for Future Policing<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1TqO4TviUzM6BtQYLnDyuhNGReZVKs0ee\/view?usp=drivesdk\"><b>2024 Report<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1wJNsidfNVTAlgsOC2qr-Q-Yyt1xHz-c_\"><b>2024 Executive Summary<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><b>Informe original (ESP):<\/b> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Asalto Al Genoma: C\u00f3mo El Gobierno De Los Estados Unidos Abusa De Sus Facultades En Materia De Inmigraci\u00f3n Para Acumular ADN Para Futuras Acciones Policiales<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1wF9A0G1nWuOa3zaPHCug-5JWbobyEFhQ\/view?usp=drivesdk\"><b>Informe de 2024<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/drive.google.com\/file\/d\/1xiQwwhMirc84rnrybWZjdWcR3umpfjFU\/view?usp=sharing\"><b>Resumen Ejecutivo de 2024<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Statistics:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Growth of DHS DNA collection over time:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5263 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px.png\" alt=\"Graph showing the growth in (a) the number of profiles in the CODIS \u2018Detainee\u2019 index and (b) the change over the previous year, from August 2016 to December 2025. Graph shows the Detainee index containing 23,212 profiles in August 2016, and growing to 3,345,692 in Dec. 2025. Figures for the change from previous year hover around 1,000-2,000 from 2016-2020, then steadily rise to reach 995,123 for the year from Dec. 2024 to Dec. 2025.]\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px-500x250.png 500w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px-740x370.png 740w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/Growth-of-DHS-DNA-collection-over-time-1200-x-600-px-980x490.png 980w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since the first Trump administration changed the rules on DNA collection at DHS, the number of people\u2019s DNA profiles in the CODIS index to which DHS contributes has skyrocketed. From near zero in 2020, there are now at least 3.3 million people\u2019s DNA profiles in the national criminal DNA database. From the federal government adding just one-to-two thousand individuals\u2019 profiles per year under this authority, the government now captures the DNA of nearly 1 million people annually.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5264 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1.png\" alt=\"Line graph showing increase in profiles in CODIS from 2020-2025\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1-500x250.png 500w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1-740x370.png 740w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/July-2026-RtG-Update-Figure-2-Website-1-980x490.png 980w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u201cdetainee\u201d index is housed within a CODIS index labelled \u201cOffender\u201d (despite the individuals from whom DHS collects DNA being accused of no crime). The \u201coffender\u201d index is the database against which police run crime scene sample searches nationwide. Before the DOJ\u2019s 2020 Rule change, DNA from people \u201cdetained\u201d under the authority of the United States made up a miniscule percentage of the profiles in this index (about 0.2%). The data we gathered shows that by December 2025, that percentage had increased drastically to more than 17%. If both DHS and the criminal legal system continue amassing DNA from people at the pace they did in 2025, DHS may have added more than one-third of the FBI\u2019s criminal DNA database by 2030.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-5265 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website.png\" alt=\"Pie charts showing proportion of DHS contributed profiles plus projection of profiles in CODIS by 2030.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website.png 1200w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website-500x250.png 500w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website-740x370.png 740w, https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/07\/2026-Copy-of-RtG-Pie-Chart-3-Years-6.5-x-2.57-in-Website-980x490.png 980w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Information last updated: August 2026<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Raiding the Genome: How the United States Government Is Abusing Its Immigration Powers to Amass DNA for Future Policing explains and analyzes the drastic expansion of DNA collection at the Department of Homeland Security. DHS\u2019s DNA collection program operates with essentially no oversight, and the DNA taken is used for future criminal policing and prosecution. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15769,"featured_media":0,"parent":62,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2678","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15769"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2678"}],"version-history":[{"count":34,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5271,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2678\/revisions\/5271"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/privacy-technology-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}