EmbeddingGemma 2: an open, lightweight multimodal embedding model
deepmind.google·6d ago
AI Engineering
Hacker News·Aug 3·5 min read
ICE Collected Nearly 1M People's DNA Last Year–Including Young Children
TL;DR
In 2025, ICE collected DNA from nearly 1 million individuals, including children, raising significant ethical concerns. A case involving Hugo Moreno-Mendez highlights the legal implications of refusing DNA collection during federal custody.
✦ Why It Matters
Evaluate your organization's policies on data collection and privacy to ensure ethical compliance.
Key Takeaways
- Understand the implications of DNA collection in immigration enforcement.
- Evaluate the ethical considerations of data collection practices.
- Stay informed about legal challenges related to DNA collection.
- Advocate for transparency in government data collection policies.
Full Summary
ICE's DNA collection program has evolved dramatically, with estimates suggesting it may contribute around 920,000 new genetic profiles to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) in 2025 alone. This expansion follows a 2020 regulatory change that removed exemptions for immigration detainees, allowing ICE to collect DNA from nearly all individuals in its custody, including families and children.
The majority of these individuals have no criminal convictions, as residing in the U.S. without documentation is typically a civil offense. Once collected, DNA samples are stored indefinitely and can be used to investigate unrelated crimes.
The program has faced legal challenges and scrutiny from lawmakers, particularly regarding the ethical implications of testing children and the lack of transparency about the purpose of the collection. Critics argue that this practice violates privacy rights and misuses genetic data.