00:00Thank you. First let me begin by saying this. Republicans, you sound absolutely absurd.
00:09Stop calling children aliens. This intentional, I mean the cruelty is the point, this intentional
00:15dehumanizing and persistent persecution through your rhetoric is shameful. You are literally
00:22attacking children. I cannot take seriously anyone who's using othering language to bully
00:29babies and toddlers. Republicans don't want us to see the humanity of immigrants, that's
00:35why they like saying aliens, and even put it in the title of the hearing. And that inhumane
00:40approach is consistent with the actions of the Department of Homeland Security. Dr. Khaffari,
00:46have you heard about the DHS policy of collecting the DNA of children and storing it into the
00:52FBI criminal database, yes or no? I believe there is not a policy to do
00:58children. There absolutely is. Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous consent to enter into the record
01:04this report from July 2025 titled Raiding the Genome, how the United States government is
01:11abusing its immigration powers to amass DNA for future policing. Without objection. This policy
01:20began under Donald Trump. In his first term, he authorized DHS to begin mass DNA data collection
01:27from immigrants, including children, and hand that data over to an FBI database designed
01:35to track violent offenders. Now that he's back, Trump is taking this policy to new extremes, adding
01:42more than a quarter million people to the database in just four months. I'm right here. A quarter million
01:50people, okay, in four months. This committee recently held a hearing on genetic data, and there was
01:56bipartisan agreement that DNA is highly sensitive and its misuse is a violation of people's rights
02:03because children as young as four years old could not possibly consent to DNA collection.
02:11So I want to know what your office is doing about it, Dr. Khaffari.
02:15We actually wrote a report.
02:16Hold on a moment. Let me ask the question.
02:17Certainly.
02:18Is it the responsibility of your office to investigate abuses of civil rights and civil liberties,
02:24yes or no?
02:25Yes.
02:26Has your office ever investigated concerns about DHS agents stealing genetic information from children
02:33and uploading it to the FBI's criminal database?
02:38Not to my knowledge during my tenure.
02:40Well, for an Inspector General worthy of the title, it should be a priority investigation.
02:48Do you agree?
02:50I agree that we did a report that we-
02:53You agree?
02:54I agree that we did a report on the matter you're discussing.
02:59For the record, I want to be clear. Do you agree there should be a priority investigation
03:03by your office to look into agents stealing genetic information from children and uploading
03:10it to the FBI's criminal database? Yes or no?
03:15Yes or no?
03:16We have done the reports that you're mentioning.
03:18Let me just say this.
03:20Your office, according to Title V of the U.S. Code, Chapter 4, Section 417, this is the responsibility
03:27you're charged with to investigate abuses of civil rights and civil liberties. Children
03:31as young as four years old have not consented to the collection of their DNA. That is a violation
03:37of the civil rights and civil liberties. So this is not a trick question. Do you believe,
03:42given the charge and jurisdiction of your office, that this should be a priority investigation
03:46as their rights have been violated?
03:48Unless the adult consented on the child.
03:51Yes or no? Yes or no? Dr. Khafari?
03:53We just got done writing a report.
03:56On what?
03:57On the DNA collection within the Department of Homeland Security.
04:00I thought you said you weren't even aware that it was a policy. I'm very confused.
04:04There's not a policy.
04:06Dr. Khafari, I'm not going to, you know, play these games here because we're talking
04:10about children. So I don't want to circle the drain. But this should be a priority investigation
04:15because we have children whose civil rights have been violated with the collection of their
04:22DNA. This administration is turning childhood trauma into a permanent record. Republicans
04:27on this committee, you claim to be focused on protecting children, yet you're ignoring
04:31actual threats to their safety. You traumatize children with the threat of disappearing their
04:35parents. You traumatize children by disappearing their parents. You traumatize children by collecting
04:40their DNA without their consent and criminalizing them. You traumatize children by denying them food
04:46when they're hungry. You traumatize children by denying them essential health care, which
04:51is their human right. You traumatize them so much that they're afraid to show up to school,
04:56afraid to show up to church, afraid to go to doctor's appointments. Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous
05:01consent to enter into the record this July 2025 article from the Boston Globe titled, I want
05:07Daddy, as ICE detains parents and children. Without objection, the gentlelady's time has expired.
05:13Ms. Mace is recognized for five minutes for questions. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate
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