The Trump administration is considering a dramatic expansion of data collection on foreign tourists, including a proposal that would allow authorities to collect DNA from people entering the country under the Visa Waiver Program, even when those travelers come from allied nations with long-standing visa-free agreements.
The proposal appears in a new Department of Homeland Security notice seeking public comment on revisions to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, or ESTA, and the I-94 arrival and departure record.
We obtained a copy of that document for you here.
The document outlines a broad set of new “high value data elements” that US Customs and Border Protection wants to collect from travelers “when feasible.”
Among those elements is DNA, listed alongside facial images, fingerprints, and iris scans.
If implemented, the change would represent the most extreme biometric data collection regime applied to short-term travelers anywhere in the world.
More: The Constitutional Fight Over New Jersey’s Baby DNA Stockpile
It would also mark a sharp escalation from existing US practices, which have historically focused on fingerprints and photographs collected at ports of entry.
The United States has collected fingerprints from most foreign visitors for years, a practice that expanded significantly after the September 11 terror attacks.
Fingerprints, while intrusive, are generally used for identity verification and law enforcement matching.
DNA, by contrast, contains vastly more information, including genetic relationships, health predispositions, and biological traits that extend far beyond identity confirmation.
The proposal is particularly notable because it would apply even to ESTA applicants, who come from countries that have signed reciprocal travel agreements with the United States under the Visa Waiver Program.
Those agreements are based on mutual trust and streamlined travel, allowing citizens of participating countries to visit the US for short stays without applying for a visa.
In addition to DNA, as we already reported, CBP proposes to make social media disclosure mandatory for ESTA applicants, requiring them to provide accounts used over the last five years.
The agency also wants to collect extensive family information, including names, dates and places of birth, contact details, and residences for parents, spouses, siblings, and children.
Together, the changes would create a detailed personal and social map of millions of travelers each year. According to CBP’s own estimates, nearly 14.5 million people submit ESTA applications annually.
The document links the expanded data collection to a January 2025 executive order on national security and terrorism, as well as an April 2025 directive instructing agencies to update forms to collect “baseline biographic data.”
It does not, however, explain how DNA collection would be operationalized, stored, shared, or protected from misuse.
Unlike fingerprints, DNA can be used to infer familial connections, meaning the data of one traveler could effectively place their relatives under indirect genetic surveillance, even if those relatives never travel to the United States.
The proposal also raises international implications. Many Visa Waiver Program countries have strong data protection laws, including restrictions on genetic data collection.
CBP is currently seeking public comment on the proposal as part of the Paperwork Reduction Act process. The agency describes the changes as part of an effort to enhance security, reduce fraud, and modernize traveler vetting.
If adopted, however, the DNA provision would place the United States far beyond existing global norms for border screening, transforming short-term travel into one of the most invasive data collection exercises any democratic government has ever imposed on visitors.
Public comments on the proposal are open for 60 days.
