CBP’s Lack of Familial DNA Testing Limits Detection of Fraudulent Relationships

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has conducted almost no familial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing to verify biological parent-child relationships, potentially missing opportunities to protect vulnerable migrant children from human smuggling fraud schemes. From September 2021 to September 2024, CBP conducted 314 familial DNA tests on about 0.01 percent of the 2.7 million aliens who crossed the border claiming to be part of a family unit. CBP did not increase familial DNA testing even after limited testing revealed more than 14 percent of administered tests indicated no biological relationship.