Trump's Trials - ICE officers are taking DNA samples from protesters they've arrested

Episode Date: March 19, 2026

In statements made as part of lawsuits against the Trump administration's handling of immigration enforcement, NPR found several people who said they were arrested while protesting ICE and then had officers take or try to take what appeared to be a sample of their DNA. NPR's Meg Anderson reports. Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. President Trump promised every single American that he would make America safe again. Every single day in the Oval Office, the president looks at us and says, why haven't we done more? This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power. Here's the latest from NPR. From NPR news, I'm Laila Faldin.

People arrested while protesting the Trump administration's mass detention and deportation campaigns say federal agents appear to take DNA samples from them. The practice is legal, but raises questions about what the government may do with sensitive genetic information. NPR's Meg Anderson reports. In late January, Ben and his wife, Gabby, were driving to their house in northeast Minneapolis. when they got a message that federal immigration officers were nearby. They had been watching ICE activity in the city for weeks, so they headed over. There were a lot of observers around.

Like, people were coming out of their houses. I got out of the car because I was like, you know, got to go film. They requested that NPR only used their first names because they worry the federal government will retaliate against them. When they arrived, Ben stood on the side of the road filming the officers who were already back inside their car. It looked like they were about to leave, but they stopped and got. out of the car and that's when I got tackled. Body slammed?

It wasn't really a tackle. Yeah. It was more of a body slam. He picked you up and slammed you down. Video of the incident shows a masked immigration officer running at Ben and slamming him to the ground. Three federal officers pinned him down and dragged him to their car. Ben was held in custody for about three hours. Before officers released him, they took his photo, got his fingerprints. And then that's when the DNA happened. An officer took a swab that looked like a cue tip. and ran it along the inside of Ben's cheek to collect his saliva. It was super casual. I was just like, okay, yeah, so we're going to take this now.

And I was like, okay. He was in a daze and didn't even really realize what was happening. NPR found half a dozen other people in Illinois, Oregon, and others in Minnesota who described similar occurrences in recent months of ICE taking what appeared to be a DNA sample after arresting them. They all said they were arrested seemingly without provocation while protesting the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics. The federal government does have broad authority to take the DNA of people it's arrested.

In fact, in a statement to NPR, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security noted that federal law actually requires federal law enforcement to collect DNA samples from anyone arrested or facing charges. But legal experts say that statute is overly broad. What law enforcement would say is these are people that were facing charges. Erin Murphy is a law professor at New York University. What are the charges they're facing if it's civil immigration authorities doing what seems to be unlawful interference with First Amendment rights? Even if that's the asserted basis, is that constitutional? In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that a Maryland law that forced an arrested person to give their DNA to police

was constitutional. But that case had limitations. It involved a law that required the arrest to be for a serious crime, and it had to be a lawful arrest based on probable cause. It's the arrest part that probably is the pressure point that matters the most. That's Oren Kerr, a law professor at Stanford University. He says the worry is what happens if an officer arrests someone for something they were legally free to do, like peacefully protesting? The officer says, I think you've crossed the line. I'm going to arrest you. It turns out the officer was wrong, but the DNA test has been conducted and the information's been entered into the database. What then? Kerr says it's not clear how a person could get those records erased. It's also unclear where the samples are going or how they'll be used.

DHS did not respond to questions about that. In the past, DNA taken by immigration officers has ended up in a big centralized police database run by the efforts. FBI. Murphy of NYU says that is particularly troubling because genetic information is so sensitive. You're not just giving up some abstract stuff. You're giving up valuable information. DNA tests can reveal things like information about a person's ancestry or their risk of developing certain health conditions. And Murphy says, you're not just taking their DNA right in this moment in time. You're taking their children's DNA and their children's children's DNA. The fear, she says, is that all of that information could be weaponized. After his arrest in Minneapolis, Ben, the man tackled by ICE, was in a lot of pain, even a few days later. He went to the doctor. And that's when it was

confirmed I had three cracked ribs. His medical records say he suffered, quote, blunt chest trauma. More than a month later, he still feels some pain. But he says what's been more lasting is the psychological stress the whole ordeal caused. I don't know. I don't really have the words for it, but it's just not something that should have ever happened. He says that includes the fact that his DNA is now, who knows where. Meg Anderson, NPR News, Minneapolis. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast,

where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear, every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.