A new pilot program from the Trump administration will test immigrants using rapid DNA detection to determine if individuals presenting as families are indeed related.
A new pilot program by the Department of Homeland Security looks to reduce the amount of family fraud reportedly occurring along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Some cases uncovered by the Star's investigation included two Mexican men paying $260 each to obtain Guatemalan birth certificates for a Guatemalan man and a Guatemalan minor who shared the same last name. The men entered the U.S. at the San Luis port of entry said they were looking to travel to Nashville, Tennessee, to find work, but after the certificates were determined to be false the men were both sentenced to serve 30 days in federal prison.
Last week, another case of family fraud was reported in the El Paso sector, and it was discovered the child had been used by migrants on two other occasions, the El Paso Times reported."These groups have no concern for the welfare or safety of the children and family groups being smuggled to the Southwest Border. The U.S. Border Patrol has continuously warned about the existence of this type of illicit activity and exploitation of minors," Border Patrol said in a statement.
The program is expected to launch soon at two or three locations along the U.S.-Mexico border and run for a few days. “We have one case of a child who said, ‘That’s my dad,’ but didn’t know he was the stepfather. That’s very different from being smuggled by a human trafficker," Jennifer Podkul, senior policy director at Kids in Need of Defense told The Post, adding that families with unconventional relationships—such as legal guardians, step and adopted children—could be separated.
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