A legislative proposal currently under consideration in Georgia could significantly expand the scope of DNA collection, targeting immigrants taken into custody even for minor offenses. This measure would allow genetic material to be swabbed from individuals facing misdemeanor or felony charges if U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a detainer request.

Expanding DNA Collection Beyond Convictions

Historically, DNA collection has been standard practice for convicted criminals across the U.S. justice system. Many states have expanded this to include individuals arrested for serious felonies. However, Georgia's proposed legislation targets those charged with less serious misdemeanors, provided federal immigration authorities seek their detention.

If passed, Georgia would become the third state to specifically mandate DNA collection from immigrants believed to be in the U.S. illegally, even if they are not ultimately deported. Florida enacted a similar law in 2023, and Oklahoma authorized such collection in 2009, although its implementation is contingent on funding.

Sponsor Justification and Legislative Context

Georgia State Senator Tim Bearden, a Republican sponsoring the bill, argued that the measure is essential for solving crimes. He stated during a March hearing, "Technology is changing quickly, and DNA is one of those things that help us tremendously when we’re trying to make sure to bring justice to victims in this state and across this country.”

This year’s legislation builds upon a 2024 Georgia law that requires local law enforcement to cooperate with federal authorities to identify and detain undocumented immigrants, under penalty of losing state funding.

Concerns Over Scope and Constitutional Implications

Critics argue that the proposed law sweeps too broadly. Mazie Lynn Guertin, executive director of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, noted that traffic offenses treated as misdemeanors in Georgia could trigger DNA collection. She questioned the public safety benefit, stating, “The correlation between a broken tail light and a crime that’s solvable with DNA is pretty attenuated in most cases.”

Furthermore, Kyle Gomez-Leineweber of Common Cause Georgia pointed out that individuals subject to federal immigration detainer requests are not automatically undocumented or deportable, as they might later prove legal status. He warned that the bill establishes "a two-tiered system where some of the DNA would be collected based off of the perception of an individual’s immigration status.”

National Trends in DNA Indexing

The FBI’s National DNA Index System (NDIS), launched in 1998, now holds over 26 million DNA profiles. A federal law enacted two decades ago permitted the Attorney General to expand collection to arrestees and detained noncitizens, though exceptions limited its application.

This federal discretion was largely removed during the Trump administration. Subsequently, the Department of Homeland Security added over 2.6 million detainee DNA profiles to the national database, according to analysis by the Center on Privacy and Technology at Georgetown University.

Stevie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy at the Center, commented on the broader trend: "It is one example of something we are seeing across the landscape, which is government actors at all levels vacuuming up DNA in all available contexts.”

Advocates question whether civil immigration detainers meet the probable cause threshold required by the Fourth Amendment for searches. Jorge Loweree of the American Immigration Council suggested the legislation appears to be "just an effort to increase the surveillance of noncitizens,” lacking meaningful justification for collecting genetic material from those merely accused of low-level crimes.