Officer Moreno‑Mendez’s case illustrates ICE’s new DNA‑collection push. He was held in Waco, repeatedly asked to give a swab and fingerprints, refused, and was later convicted of a misdemeanor for not providing DNA. The case is part of a federal program that funnels genetic profiles of almost all ICE detainees into the FBI’s CODIS database.

Georgetown Law’s Center on Privacy and Technology estimates that the Department of Homeland Security is now the largest single source of new genetic profiles in the national system, with ICE potentially adding 919,908 profiles in 2025. The FBI’s detainee index reached 3,345,692 profiles by December 2025, a rise of roughly 995,000 that year alone.

The program has expanded to families and children. Lawmakers learned that at the Dilley, Texas center, children were forbed swabbed, prompting congressional criticism that “they do not belong in a database meant for violent criminals.” DHS argues the collection is an identification measure for border‑security purposes.

The shift began with a 2020 DOJ rule change that removed exemptionsAnchor and the 2021 ICE Directive 10092.1, which requires officers to collect DNA from nearly everyone in custody. Training slides now instruct collection after “ANY arrest,” broadening the scope beyond criminal suspects.