Canadian authorities using genealogical sites to identify deportees
OTTAWA: Canadian authorities said they have been quietly collecting DNA of migrants and matching it to distant relatives using genealogical websites in order to establish their nationality.
The Canada Border Services Agency ( CBSA) says it does so only in extreme cases – such as that of a man who claimed to be Guinean but was turned back from that country after Canada tried to deport him.
Immigration lawyers, however, are concerned about law enforcement’s collection of migrants’ DNA and the privacy of data held by websites such as Ancestry.com and FamilyTreeDNA. com.
“The CBSA uses DNA testing in order to determine identity of longer term detainees when other avenues of investigation have been exhausted,” spokesman Jayden Robertson said.
The agency said the testing assists in “determining identity by providing indicators of nationality thereby enabling us to focus further lines of investigation on particular countries.”
It always obtains consent from the individual before submitting their DNA to these websites, it added. But Toronto immigration lawyer Jared Will, who represents several people who had their DNA analysed in order to establish their nationality, disputes that.
“In my experience, the CBSA has made these requests to detainees who are then accused of non- cooperation with removal efforts if they decline, and that non- cooperation is then invoked as a justification for continued and prolonged detention,” he told AFP.
“In other words, while the detainees may formally give their consent, the validity of that consent is dubious,” he said.
Others noted that one’s ethnicity or family ties may not determine their nationality.
Scrutiny of the practice comes as Canada announced Monday it was expanding the collection of biometrics like fingerprints and photos for refugee claimants, individuals facing extradition and foreign nationals seeking a temporary resident visa, work permit or study permit. — AFP