WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBOY) — West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito joined a group of other Senate Republicans in criticizing a rule change at the U.S.-Mexico border that they say “will enable human smuggling and trafficking,” particularly that of children.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the group addressed “recent reports indicating that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will stop using ‘all familial DNA testing'” later this month.
The Senators said that between June 2019 and September 2021, 8.5% of all rapid DNA samples taken from children at the border came back as “negative for claimed parent-child relationships,” per the DHS’s own data.
Additionally, “Board Patrol agents identified more than 6,200 fraudulent family members,” in fiscal year 2019, the senators said, citing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The senators are demanding that CBP continue familial DNA testing at the border, saying DHS has a responsibility to mitigate and prevent human trafficking across the U.S. border.
DNA testing for children is also required in order for migrants at other ports of entry to obtain certain U.S. visas, according to the U.S. Department of State’s website.
The change comes after the end of Title 42, a Trump-era policy used during the COVID-19 pandemic that prevented non-citizens from entering the country at the border due to public health reasons. It expired on May 11 when the COVID-19 public health emergency ended.
Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Budd (R-NC), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) also signed the letter.
