Is ICE taking DNA from protesters? What we know

The federal government's sweeping power to force people under arrest to give a DNA sample is facing new scrutiny after multiple immigration enforcement protesters reported being swabbed after being taken into custody.

Steven Saari said he was "physically forced without my consent to do a DNA sample" after immigration agents detained him near where Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, was shot and killed by federal authorities in Minneapolis in January.

Saari, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said incourt recordsthat he went to the scene after hearing that another person had been shot by federal agents in the city, less than three weeks after the killing of Renee Nicole Good. He said he was taken into custody without cause.

"I was standing on the sidewalk, not recording with my phone not protesting, not yelling, not blowing a whistle, just watching," Saari said in a declaration filed in federal court. After about eight hours in custody, he was released without charges.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, March 23, 2026. Hundreds of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ordered to deploy to airports to help fill TSA staffing gaps across the country.

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ICE agents appear at airports as TSA delays snarl check-in

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents patrol at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City, March 23, 2026. Hundreds ofImmigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ordered to deploy to airportsto help fill TSA staffing gaps across the country.

Saari is not alone. Several people have said federal agents took or attempted to take DNA samples from them after they were suddenly apprehended.

"It's certainly alarming, but is it surprising? No," said Stevie Glaberson, director of research and advocacy at Georgetown University's Center on Privacy and Technology.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has broad authority to collect DNA from people in its custody and has ramped up its efforts to do so in recent years, Glaberson said.

Can ICE take your DNA?

A spokesperson for DHS told USA TODAYfederal lawrequires law enforcement to collect DNA samples from people who are arrested. The requirement cited by DHS applies to people who are "arrested, facing charges, or convicted," and non-U.S. citizens who are "detained."

The 2005 DNA Fingerprint Act authorized federal officials to collect DNA from people arrested on suspicion of having committed a crime, a significant expansion of power that "passed with little public scrutiny as an amendment to the reauthorization bill for the popular Violence Against Women Act," according toa report from the Center on Privacy and Technology published in May 2024 and co-authored by Glaberson.Federal lawmakes refusal to cooperate with DNA collection a crime, the researchers said, butsome people have done so,according to federal records.

McKenna Walker, a 27-year-old U.S. citizen who was detained in Minneapolis during a protest outside a federal building in January, said that agents "demanded a DNA sample," but she refused, according to a declaration filed as part of a class action lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security.

"The agents also requested that I provide a buccal swab, but I insisted that I would not provide one without a warrant," she said in a court filing. "Eventually the agents acquiesced."

Agencies are authorized to use "such means as are reasonably necessary to detain, restrain, and collect a DNA sample" from someone who refuses to cooperate,according to the federal regulation cited by DHS.The sample, which can be collected through blood draws or buccal swabs, must then be sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation so that it can be analyzed and entered into a national law enforcement database known as the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS.

Once DNA is in CODIS, it can be accessed by certain law enforcement agencies across the country trying to solve other crimes.There is a process for requesting to have your DNA expunged from CODIS,according to the FBI, but Glaberson, co-author of the report, said very few people appear to have successfully done so, meaning their DNA will likely remain there in perpetuity.

A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed the bureau has a process to expunge a DNA profile from CODIS, but declined to comment any further.

DNA collection ramps up

Glaberson said that after a federal rule was changed in 2020, DHS ramped up its DNA collection, primarily in the context of immigration enforcement.

Over the first two decades of CODIS's existence, the government added approximately 25,000 DNA profiles from non-U.S. citizens to the database,according to the 2024 report. Between 2020 and 2024, Department of Homeland Security agents added more than 1.5 million "detainee" DNA profiles to the database. During those four years, Customs and Border Protection sentthe DNA of nearly 2,000 U.S. citizensto the FBI, the majority of whom were labeled as "arrestee/facing charges," the researchers found. USA TODAY has asked CBP for comment.

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"It's just un-American to surveil all these people for no reason," said Sara Huston, principal investigator of the Genetics and Justice Laboratory in Chicago, a policy lab designed to investigate "human rights and humanitarian applications of genetic information in non-medical contexts."

The amount of DNA added to CODIShas continued to riseduring the second Trump administration, according to the report, which Huston assisted with, sparking somequestions about the practice fromlawmakers.

Now, Glaberson said, "we are seeing a militarized police force in ICE being loosed on cities and grabbing people for very little reason, pretextual reasons, unconstitutional reasons and then using those unlawful detentions as cover to take people's DNA."

In Chicago, Dayanne Figueroa, said she was "swabbed for DNA" by federal agents who arrested her after she said agents sideswiped her car. The Department of Homeland Security accused Figueroa of attempting to ram agents with her vehicle, which Figueroa denies.

"I was violated," shetestified on Capitol Hill in December, describing how she was ripped from her car and arrested without being read her rights or asked for identification.

Is this legal?

Glaberson said that while federal agencies may have the legal authority to collect DNA, the way they exert that power could still be considered unconstitutional. She pointed to a2013 Supreme Court case, which found that it was constitutional for police to force people to give them their DNA under Maryland law when someone had been lawfully arrested based on probable cause they had committed a serious crime.

At the local level, courts help confirm there is probable cause either before an arrest when police secure a warrant or after when charges are pursued, Glaberson said. But she said often "ICE doesn't even make any half-hearted attempt to pursue criminal charges."

That's what happened after George Retes Jr., an Army veteran, was detained in California last summer. In a complaint filed in federal court, Retes said he was trying to report to his shift on a Camarillo farm when he discovered that federal agents were conducting a raid.

Retes, a U.S. citizen, said agents shouted conflicting commands before deploying tear gas, dragging him out of the car and throwing him to the ground. Federal agents brought him to a U.S. Navy base, where they took his "fingerprints, photographed him, exchanged the zip ties for handcuffs and leg shackles, and swabbed his cheek for a DNA sample," according to a court filing.

"He was strip searched, deprived of his belongings, and held incommunicado for three days and three nights," reada complaint filed in February. "He was never brought before a judge and was never charged with any offense."

Arrests, DNA swabs could have 'chilling effect'

In San Pedro, California, Julian Cardenas said he was "cheek-swabbed" after being detained by Homeland Security agents in July, according to aU.S. Senate subcommittee investigation.

Cardenas, a U.S. citizen and father of a 3-year-old son, told lawmakers he was recording ICE agents when his vehicle was surrounded, officers dragged him out of his car and held him in custody for three days. While inside the Santa Ana City Jail, authorities took a genetic sample.

"I never consented to my DNA being taken by the federal government," he told members of Congress. "They forced me to do it based on false charges. It is very intrusive."

Cardenas' charges were later dismissed.Dozens of casesinvolving people arrested by federal law enforcement officers during immigration enforcement operations or protests have reportedlyfallenapartacrossthe country. The Department of Justice declined comment.

Even if charges are never filed or are later dismissed, Glaberson said the fear of being arrested and swabbed for DNA could discourage people from observing ICE or peacefully protesting,activities that are protected by the First Amendment.

"The chilling effect of knowing...the federal government has your DNA, I think shouldn't be understated," she said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Can ICE take DNA from U.S. citizens? What we know.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 24, 2026

Is ICE taking DNA from protesters? What we know

The federal government's sweeping power to force people under arrest to give a DNA sample is facing new scrutiny afte...

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Middle school stabbing leaves 2 kids, 1 adult hurt

A middle school student is in custody after allegedly stabbing two children and one adult at his Florida school on Tuesday, authorities said.

The attack -- which happened in less than 45 seconds -- unfolded after the suspect was dropped off at 7:17 a.m. at Walton Middle School in DeFuniak Springs in the Florida Panhandle, Sheriff Michael Adkinson said.

The school was not fully open at the time and there were about 40 students in the building, Adkinson said at a news conference.

The suspect allegedly went into a bathroom and then emerged a few minutes later wearing a mask and armed with a "sharp implement," the sheriff said.

The boy allegedly went up to a fellow student and stabbed them multiple times, Adkinson said. He then allegedly went down the hall and attacked an adult, and then stabbed another child, the sheriff said.

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The suspect fled but was apprehended near the school about seven minutes after the stabbings, Adkinson said.

The two children were seriously injured: one was life-flighted to a hospital in Pensacola and the other was taken to Fort Walton-Destin Hospital, a level two trauma center, the sheriff said. The wounded adult was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, he said.

The sheriff did not discuss a potential motive.

The school canceled classes for the day, the sheriff's office said.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 24, 2026

Middle school stabbing leaves 2 kids, 1 adult hurt

A middle school student is in custody after allegedly stabbing two children and one adult at his Florida school on Tuesda...

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'Inherent resilience': Hawaii governor praises community as state recovers from historic floods

Cleanup is underway in Hawaii after the state was hit with its worst floods in two decades.

Heavy downpours on Monday swept homes off their foundations, sent cars floating out of driveways, and left behind a blanket of thick red mud. Authorities said hundreds of homes were damaged, along with some schools and a hospital.

No deaths have been reported yet, but more than 230 people had to be rescued. Hawaii Governor Josh Green said the focus now shifts to recovery, estimating the cost could exceed $1 billion.

RELATED STORY |Here's what to know as the scope of damage from Hawaii's floods becomes clearer

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"We had between 40 and 50 inches of rain. That would be like 35 feet of snow, just to give people perspective if it was back on the mainland," Green said. "So it's an enormous amount of water."

"We lost one hospital but thank God all the people survived on Oahu," he added. "We are missing one individual right now that fell into a river on Maui — a beautiful person that was homeless. So we're hanging together. I just thank everybody on the continent for their support. I mean, people reach out to Hawaii in many ways to help us through these kinds of things, like with the wildfire. So we're hanging in there but we have a lot of damage to repair."

Meanwhile, Green noted that the resiliency of Hawaiians is what has helped them recover after past natural disasters, and that resilience will help them through this storm.

"The Hawaiians lived for generations through these kind of challenges without as much technology — back hundreds of years ago," Green said. "And so there is this inherent resilience, I almost want to say genetic resilience. ... There seems to be something in the fiber of the community that gets kicked around and then builds back fast."

Watch Scripps News' full interview with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green in the video player above.

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 24, 2026

'Inherent resilience': Hawaii governor praises community as state recovers from historic floods

Cleanup is underway in Hawaii after the state was hit with its worst floods in two decades. Heavy downpours on...

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Even with robot umpires, MLB managers will find reasons to argue and get ejected

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Cash isn't worried that manager ejections will become a relic of baseball's past just becauserobot umpires have arrivedto settle some debates.

ABS-Ejections Baseball

"You only get two challenges, right? That can come up in the first inning," the Tampa Bay Rays manager said.

Manager tantrums at umpires have long delighted fans: the Yankees'Billy Martin kicking and throwing dirton Dale Scott in 1988, Cincinnati's Lou Piniellaheaving first base into right fieldin anger at Dutch Rennert in 1990 and the Orioles'Earl Weaver going face to face with Bill Hallerin 1980, each profanely calling the other a liar.

But Major League Baseball has given managers less to gripe about in the past two decades. Video reviews began for home run calls in August 2008 andwere widely expanded to many decisions for the 2014 season. TheAutomated Ball-Strike System starts this yearto allow challenges to human strike zone calls, dubbed robot umpires.

"Manager ejections have been down for a while now because of the replay system," said Hall of Famer Jim Leyland, a three-time Manager of the Year tossed 73 times over 22 seasons. "I really like the ABS. I think it's going to be great for the game."

Last year, 61.5% of ejections among players, managers and coaches (99 of 161) were related to ball/strike calls, according to MLB, up slightly from 60.3% (114 of 189) in 2024. The figure included what MLB counted as inappropriate comments and conduct, and throwing equipment in protest.

"I'm in favor of anything that allows our technology to play in this game," Cash said. "We have so much of it. Why not use it?"

Each team gets two challenges per game, and a club keeps its challenge if successful. A team out of challenges gets an additional one in each extra inning.

"You're going to take out the argument of balls and strikes initially," Minnesota Twins manager Derek Shelton said. "I think the challenge is going to be after the challenges go away, how managers are and what they do? But I do think that there is going to be probably less general complaining about balls and strikes in the early going."

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Aaron Boone of the Yankees has led or tied for the most ejections in four straight seasons, and his nine in 2022 were the most since Atlanta's Bobby Cox was tossed 10 times in 2007.

Cox was thrown out a record 162 times, followed by John McGraw (121), Leo Durocher (100), Weaver (96), Tony La Russa (93) and Bruce Bochy (89).

Cincinnati's Terry Francona, starting his 25th season in a big league dugout, leads active managers with 54. Boone, beginning his ninth season, is second with 46.

Boone is less concerned over whether his dugout dissents will dwindle and more focused on keeping his players locked in if a challenge goes against them. If an umpire calls strike three to strand the bases loaded and the pitcher pumps a fist and bounds off the mound, how will the pitcher quickly regain composure if ABS reverses the call and forces a 3-2 offering?

"It's a whole new thing that pitchers have never dealt with. That's an emotional thing you've got to deal with," Boone said. "That's something we've already addressed, same with the hitters to a lesser degree: that reset. How do you clear the mechanism?"

Bobby Valentine, who managed three major league teams over 16 seasons, will be honored by the New York Mets this May with agiveaway promotion commemorating one of his 44 ejections. After he was tossed by Randy Marsh on June 9, 1999, Valentine returned to the dugout with a fake mustache fashioned from eye black and sunglasses.

Valentine thinks players have evolved past the point where a manager could spark his team with a histrionic argument.

"I found that by the end of my career that that was only entertainment," he said. "It didn't fire anyone up except for my wife, who was worried about the fine that I was going to get."

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/MLB

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 24, 2026

Even with robot umpires, MLB managers will find reasons to argue and get ejected

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Cash isn't worried that manager ejections will become a relic of baseball's past just be...

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Mike McCarthy says Aaron Rodgers reunion 'would be a great story'

The stars may be aligning for anAaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy reunion in Pittsburgh, but it hasn't happened yet – despite one party expressing enthusiasm at the idea recently.

McCarthy, the new head coach for thePittsburgh Steelers, was a featured speaker at a celebration of life for formerGreen Bay Packerspresident Bob Harlan at Lambeau Field on March 23. At the event, Kevin Harlan, Bob's son and a sports commentator for CBS Sports,asked McCarthyabout a potential reunion with Rodgers in Pittsburgh.

"It would be a great story," McCarthy said. "And I don't know– I would love to tell everybody this breaking news. But it's really cool to see Aaron at 42. To see a young man at 22 and all of what he's been able to accomplish and where he's at in his personal life, and trying to make this decision. He's in a really good place."

NFL NEWS, TAKES, FANTASY ADVICE:USA TODAY Sports has you covered with our NFL vodcast

McCarthy and Rodgers spent 13 years together with the Packers – when McCarthy was still their head coach and Rodgers was still their quarterback. During that 2006-2018 stretch, Rodgers earned seven Pro Bowl nods, won two NFL MVP awards and won Super Bowl MVP as the Packers defeated theSteelersin Super Bowl 45.

The Steelers hired McCarthy to replace Mike Tomlin, whohad resignedfrom Pittsburgh's head coach role in January after 19 straight non-losing seasons. McCarthy is a Pittsburgh native who most recently coached the Dallas Cowboys from 2020-2024. He spent the 2025 season out of football.

Rodgers is a free agentafter spending last year with the Steelers on a one-year deal. Last offseason, Pittsburgh spent several months courting the veteran gunslinger following his release from the New York Jets before officially signing him on June 7.

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This year, the Steelers are the last quarterback-needy team still in the market for a new signal-caller – excluding the Las Vegas Raiders, who are expected to draft quarterback Fernando Mendoza in April.

NFL MOCK DRAFT:Surprises in top 10 of latest first-round projection

3. Arizona Cardinals – David Bailey, OLB/DE, Texas Tech

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 4. Tennessee Titans – Sonny Styles, LB, Ohio State

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 5. New York Giants – Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 6. Cleveland Browns – Monroe Freeling, OT, Georgia

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 7. Washington Commanders – Caleb Downs, S, Ohio State

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 8. New Orleans Saints – Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 9. Kansas City Chiefs – Rueben Bain Jr., DE, Miami (Fla.)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 10. Cincinnati Bengals – Dillon Thieneman, S, Oregon

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 11. Miami Dolphins – Francis Mauigoa, OT/G, Miami (Fla.)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 12. Dallas Cowboys – Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 13. Los Angeles Rams (from Atlanta Falcons) – Makai Lemon, WR, USC

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Akheem Mesidor, DE, Miami (Fla.)

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 16. Jets (from Indianapolis Colts) – Jordyn Tyson, WR, Arizona State

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 17. Detroit Lions – Spencer Fano, OT/G, Utah

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 18. Minnesota Vikings – Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 19. Carolina Panthers - Kenyon Sadiq, TE, Oregon

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 21. Pittsburgh Steelers – Kadyn Proctor, OT/G, Alabama

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 22. Los Angeles Chargers – T.J. Parker, DE/OLB, Clemson

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 23. Philadelphia Eagles – Keldric Faulk, DE, Auburn

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 24. Cleveland Browns – Omar Cooper Jr., WR, Indiana

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 25. Chicago Bears – Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, S, Toledo

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 26. Buffalo Bills – Cashius Howell, OLB, Texas A&M

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 29. Kansas City Chiefs (from Los Angeles Rams) – Colton Hood, CB, Tennessee

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 30. Miami Dolphins (from Denver Broncos) – Denzel Boston, WR, Washington

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> 32. Seattle Seahawks – Avieon Terrell, CB, Clemson

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

NFL mock draft: Top-10 surprises in latest first-round projection

In a March 4 appearance on the Pat McAfee Show,Rodgers discussedhis conversations with the Steelers and whether he planned to return for the 2026 season.

"There's no contract offer or anything, so there's nothing that I'm having to debate between," Rodgers said. "I'm a free agent. I'm enjoying my time with my wife and enjoying this part of the offseason. I think there's conversations to be had down the line, but right now there hasn't been any progressive conversations.

"There hasn't been any deadline set on me, there hasn't been any contract floated in front of me. … Interested in what the conversations will be, but there hasn't been any progression when it comes to that."

Rodgers suggested prior to the 2025 season that it could be his last in the NFL, but he did not double down on that sentiment after the Steelers' wild-card round playoff loss in January.

"I'm not gonna make any emotional decisions,"Rodgers said after the game. "Disappointed, you know, obviously, such a fun year. A lot of adversity, but a lot of fun. Been a great year overall in my life in the last year, and this is a really good part of that, being a part of this team. So it's disappointing to be sitting here."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Aaron Rodgers' potential Steelers return: Mike McCarthy weighs in

byCristiano Ronaldo

in

March 24, 2026

Mike McCarthy says Aaron Rodgers reunion 'would be a great story'

The stars may be aligning for anAaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy reunion in Pittsburgh, but it hasn't happened yet – despi...

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