Why is the TSA tasked with collecting DNA?

Editor's note: DNA is your private property. Your placenta was also private property that your parents unwittingly allowed the hospital where you were birth certified at to keep after the umbilical cord was cut. Why would you knowingly give your private property away to a government entity that asks for it? Duress? Ignorance? Convenience? Travelers are increasingly questioning why U.S. transportation and border-security agencies are expanding biometric data collection and, in limited cases, DNA sampling. While the TSA has not publicly acknowledged routine DNA collection, related federal agencies such as Customs and Border Protection have confirmed collecting DNA from certain non-citizens, raising concerns about oversight and mission creep. DNA contains far more personal information than fingerprints or facial images, including health and familial data, which makes transparency and clear legal limits essential. This has led to broader questions about how such data is used, how long it is stored, and whether it could be cross-referenced with medical information such as rare blood types like O-negative (see The Curse of Having an O Negative Blood Type). Without clear public explanations, the issue is not speculation but whether expanding biometric authority is outpacing informed consent and transparent accountability.
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TSA Starts Collecting 'DNA' With Law Now In Effect At US airports

By Charlotte Maracina via The Sun | December 29, 2025

Do you put up with TSA because they keep you safe when you get on an airplane? Well, forget that. There is no public evidence that TSA has caught any person actually carrying out or imminently attempting an Islamist terrorist attack at an airport checkpoint in the last five years, and experts generally note that TSA's screening programs have not credibly documented a single terrorist caught at the checkpoint in their entire history. Now the door opens for the TSA to collect your DNA. ⁃ Patrick Wood, Editor.

New strict customs laws have gone into effect, allowing government officials to request tourists' DNA in some cases. The new biometric data collection started on December 26, just ahead of the new year.

The new rule targets non-citizens entering or leaving the US, according to government documents seen by Reuters. Travelers will now be subjected to facial recognition photos at the airport to help match them against existing records. Those facial recognition pictures will be stored for up to 75 years, according to the documents.

Under the new law, Department of Homeland Security officials may request additional biometric information, including fingerprints or DNA, from non-citizens. The updated security measures are meant to “deter the filing of frivolous claims and provide operational consistency," according to the government.

The new biometric rules would also remove any age restrictions on facial recognition, meaning that any foreigner is now subject to the biometric measures. Up until now, there were restrictions on who could be scanned using facial recognition. Travelers under 14 years old and those over 79 years old were exempt from those requirements.

Biometric data has been collected from foreign visitors for years, but now the government is pushing to collect more information to tighten border security. The new rules expand what officials are legally allowed to ask for.

Select visitors planning to stay in the US for more than 29 days are now required to pay a $30 fee. Those who refuse to pay the fee and be fingerprinted could be hit with a $5,000 fine.

The new rules come one day before one of the busiest travel days of the year, according to United Airlines. The popular airline said that December 27 is expected to be a record-breaking day in the winter travel season.

Travelers should brace for longer security lines and make sure everything they have complies with TSA rules and restrictions.

"You will probably be waiting an extra-long time in the security line this Christmas," Air passenger rights expert Ivaylo Danailov, CEO of SkyRefund, warned. "There are going to be many more people than normal carrying much more stuff than usual for the Christmas season, both of which result in longer security waits."

Most importantly, Danailov urged travelers to "check the TSA's website" before they fly. Unfortunately for Christmas travellers, this scrutiny also extends to wrapped goods," he said.

"It doesn't matter what you have wrapped, or how nicely, the TSA will unwrap anything to get a good look at it and are not always gentle in the process."

Read full story here…