Trump Administration Wants DNA of Citizens Sponsoring Immigrants

The Trump administration is looking to gather more information from people trying to become citizens and from the Americans who are sponsoring them.

The Hill reports that White House officials submitted a proposal on Friday that would expand its collection of DNA and other biometric data to include both immigrants and citizens who are sponsoring them.

The Department of Homeland Security proposal, which was published in a document on the Federal Register, states that "any applicant, petitioner, sponsor, beneficiary, or individual filing or associated with an immigration benefit or request, including United States citizens, must appear for biometrics collection without regard to age unless DHS waives or exempts the biometrics requirement."

DHS also suggested expanding the definition of "biometrics" to include "iris image, palm print, and voice print."

The expanded plan to collect DNA and biometrics was first announced by the agency on Sept. 2. A DHS official told CNN that the DNA collection would help increase the capacity of the department to collect and store information on migrants as well as verify family relationships during the immigration process.

"As those technologies become available and can be incorporated as appropriate, it gives the agency the flexibility to utilize them. And then it also would give the agency the authority down the road, as new technologies become available and are reliable, secure, etc., to pivot to using those, as well," the official told CNN.

A year ago, the Trump administration asked for the collection of DNA of migrants detained by U.S. authorities. Trump claimed that by collecting DNA, authorities would be able to identify fraud and reopen cold cases.

Deputy director of immigration policy for the American Civil Liberties Union Andrea Flores said the expanded proposal contains an "unprecedented" level of data collection.

"Collecting a massive database of genetic blueprints won't make us safer — it will simply make it easier for the government to surveil and target our communities and to bring us closer to a dystopian nightmare," Flores said in a statement on Sept. 2.

• Trump Administration to Gather DNA Data on Detained Migrants
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