Migrant children’s DNA collected for database at Trump’s request

The DNA of thousands of migrant children added to an FBI criminal database.

According to Wired, thousands of migrant children have reportedly been entered into an FBI criminal DNA database under a policy instituted in 2020, during the Trump administration's first term.

According to the most recent data for the first quarter of 2025, there has been a marked increase in DNA sampling, bringing to over 1.5 million the number of migrants whose DNA has been collected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since the program was launched.

Among them, migrant children, sometimes as young as 4, were also involved, with over 133,000 DNA samples recorded, according to estimates reported by Wired.

These data have been integrated into the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) permanent database, which is usually used in criminal investigations to compare DNA samples taken from crime scenes or from people convicted of serious offences.to compare DNA samples taken from crime scenes or from people convicted of serious offences.

Of more than 133,000 young migrants under the age of 21, 230 were children under the age of 13, some as young as 4, and more than 30,000 were aged between 14 and 17, all permanently added to the criminal DNA database, according to the same source.