CBP Not Collecting DNA Samples From Illegal Immigrants: Sen. Chuck Grassley

Illegal immigrants wait in along the border wall to board a bus after surrendering to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas on May 12, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is violating the law by not collecting DNA samples from detained illegal immigrants, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

In a letter to the Department of Homeland Security, Sen. Grassley said the failure to collect DNA is “required by the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005.” He cited a “legally protected whistleblower” in connection with the CPB who informed him that the department “is not collecting DNA from all illegal immigrants apprehended at the border.”