DHS to Test DNA of Migrant Families for Fraud in New Pilot Project
By Bowen Xiao
May 2, 2019 Updated: May 2, 2019

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under a new pilot project is set to begin administering DNA tests to migrant families as early as next week as an “additional investigative tool” to combat the increase in fraudulent families trying to enter the United States.

Consenting migrant individuals, under the new program, will swab his or her own cheek while being observed by DHS agents and a qualified technician, as will the claimed migrant child, in a test that will take “an average of two hours.” The Rapid DNA kits will be provided by contractor ANDE.

Migrant adults frequently pose as parents to children in order to take advantage of loopholes in immigration laws and avoid being detained. Special agents have seen perpetrators of this fraud using “forged birth certificates or other fraudulent documents to establish parentage.”

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said 101 family units were interviewed since April 18, and of those, 29 fraudulent families were identified.

“This pilot will help us determine whether this technology can strengthen our existing investigative processes and potentially rescue more children from dangerous situations,” DHS officials told reporters in a May 1 conference call.

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https://www.theepochtimes.com/dhs-to-tes...ct_2903639.html