Grassley Shines Light on DHS' Failure to Collect DNA from Illegal Immigrants

Amid National Whistleblower Month, DHS whistleblowers reveal severe misconduct, retaliation at Senate roundtable

WASHINGTON - Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) hosted a roundtable examining the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)'s unlawful failure to collect DNA from illegal immigrants apprehended at the border, as well as its retaliation against whistleblowers who reported the violations.

Per the Office of Special Counsel, DHS' noncompliance with the DNA Fingerprint Act of 2005 has "compromised public safety" and "allowed subjects accused of violent crimes, including homicide and sexual assault, to elude detection even when detained multiple times." The Trump administration in 2020 issued a directive to compel CBP officials to ramp up its DNA collection; the Biden-Harris administration's failure to do so conflicts with this still-active directive, violates federal law and endangers national security.

Find Grassley's opening statement HERE, and questions of panelists, HERE.

Whistleblowers discussed DHS' continued refusal to comply with the law and collect DNA from all detained illegal immigrants, the importance of DNA collection in law enforcement efforts and the severe retaliation they suffered for sounding the alarm on DHS's dangerous malpractice.

One whistleblower, Mark Jones, addressed the case of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five who was raped and murdered last August by an illegal immigrant whose DNA was never collected -- despite encountering DHS at least three times prior to Morin's assault. Jones noted that, had DHS followed the law and collected the subject's DNA even once among multiple encounters at the border, he would've been on law enforcement's radar and may have been apprehended before Morin's murder.

Background

Grassley last year demanded answers from DHS on its deficient DNA collection practices at the southern border. In addition to emphasizing public safety risks, he underscored this growing dearth of data hampers the United States' ability to pursue unsolved criminal cases and exact justice. Grassley first wrote DHS on this issue in 2018, upon receiving legally protected whistleblower disclosures.

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