A recently debated Georgia Senate Bill would require DNA samples from individuals placed in detention facilities who are charged with any misdemeanor or felony, reflecting the broader national conversation surrounding border security.
“I personally believe that the government taking DNA samples of people is unjust,” said Val Pelaez, a sophomore political science major. “I fear that the bill was aimed more towards immigration because it gives enforcement an easier way to racially profile immigrants.”
President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda, adopted in his second term, cracks down on undocumented immigration with the intention of putting “America First” and prioritizing border security. Detention centers have expanded, the goal of 1 million deportations per year has been established and state governments have begun to propose further legislation.
Multiple Georgia senators sponsored SB 116 in the hopes of expanding public safety efforts by providing law enforcement with more tools to solve crimes. Senator Timothy Bearden (R), the main sponsor, emphasized utilizing new DNA testing advancements to bring justice to victims of crimes.
The DNA samples would be collected through a process called DNA swabbing, which would require a simple mouth swab of the individual to be run through testing and placed in a database for future reference. It is typically required for those convicted of felonies, but SB 116 blankets misdemeanor crimes as well. Also, the individuals would not be required to be convicted, but charged with a crime lesser than felonies and also have detainer requests.
A formal response made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says, “Partnerships with law enforcement are critical to having the resources we need to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country.”
The conversation surrounding the bill has extended further than individuals with detainer requests. One law professional in particular believes the implementation of this type of law could involve every American citizen in the near future.
“If we made this [DNA sampling] the standard practice, the government would, within a couple of years, be able to effectively identify any citizen,” said Nicholas Creel, associate professor of business law at GCSU. “At that point, there would be no more DNA privacy.”
Professor Creel also notes the ethical implications of the bill in relation to its focus on minority populations.
“We’re basically building a minority DNA database,” Professor Creel said. “Doing it to populations that we know are going to have an outsized effect on their privacy – That’s where it gets to be an even bigger deal with me.”
SB 116 is particularly tailored to individuals in detention centers, which are facilities where undocumented and suspected undocumented immigrants are held.
“They [lawmakers] need to understand how important a role the immigrant community plays,” said Georgia State Representative Long Tran of District 80 (D). “Not just the legal immigrants, but undocumented immigrants as well, and how some of our industries are surviving because of them.”
The Georgia Senate proposed the bill in January and failed to pass it before the end of the Georgia General Assembly legislative session, where state senators and representatives propose and pass legislation. Because it was introduced during the second year of the two-year legislative term, it will not roll over into next year’s session and will have to be reintroduced next spring to pass.
Kevin Moreno-Cortes is a lifelong Georgia resident, native to Athens, whose father was recently deported. Seeing first-hand his father’s difficult experience with immigration enforcement and watching Georgia lawmakers push for SB 116 has raised his concerns surrounding transparency and treatment.
“We don’t really know, as the public, how the detainees are treated,” Moreno-Cortes said. “We didn’t even know where he [Moreno-Cortes’ father] was or have communication with him for about three days… It is a little scary.”
As this national conversation surrounding undocumented immigration continues and more local legislation gets put on the floor, information can be found on the official Georgia General Assembly website, which uploads bills passed in the state of Georgia.
