Air Force Veteran Challenges DHS Over DNA Collection After Protest Arrest, Warns 'The Government's Chilling Message Is Clear'

A 71-year-old Air Force veteran who was arrested during a protest outside a Chicago immigration detention center in September is suing the federal government over the collection and retention of his DNA, arguing that the practice violates constitutional protections and is being used to discourage dissent during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Dana Briggs, a longtime protester against Department of Homeland Security policies, became the lead plaintiff this week in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Illinois challenging DHS DNA collection practices.

The suit, reported by The New York Times, argues that federal authorities are collecting and storing genetic information from protesters, including people who are never convicted of crimes, creating what the filing describes as a chilling effect on political speech.

"The government's chilling message is clear," the lawsuit states. "If you protest government policies, we will arrest you, file away your DNA and monitor you — and potentially your biological relatives — going forward."

Briggs was arrested during a demonstration outside the Broadview ICE Detention Center, which became a focal point of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement operation in Chicago known as Operation Midway Blitz. Briggs said federal agents knocked him to the ground after demonstrators were ordered to clear the street.

After being taken to a hospital, Briggs said he was handcuffed to a bed before agents transferred him to a federal facility where he was fingerprinted, photographed and instructed to provide a DNA sample using a cheek swab. "If you refuse to give a swab, you're committing another crime," Briggs said. "I was unaware of that."

The charges against Briggs were dismissed two months later, along with cases against four other protesters arrested that day. But according to the lawsuit, his DNA profile remains stored in the FBI's Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, a national database used by law enforcement agencies.

The legal challenge targets a CBP directive issued in 2025 requiring DNA collection from individuals arrested, charged or convicted by agency officers. The directive states that officers should not use force to obtain DNA samples but may refer people for prosecution if they refuse.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that federal law requires the collection of DNA samples. Briggs argued the policy represents a broader erosion of civil liberties. "I just find this to be abhorrent," he said. "If we don't have a right to our own selves, everything is going to break down."