Next week, at two locations along the United States’ southern border, authorities will begin swabbing the cheeks of migrants and asylum seekers traveling as families to complete DNA tests. The new pilot program, first reported by CNN, seeks to identify what the Department of Homeland Security calls “fraudulent families.” The DNA tests can provide results in as little as 90 minutes.

For months, the Trump administration has claimed that some asylum seekers arriving on the border with children are not actually families, but rather adults traveling with unrelated children. The administration argues that these people hope to take advantage of laws that limit the amount of time children and families can remain in detention.

In recent months, investigators with the DHS say they have noticed an increase in fraudulent families arriving at the border, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official speaking on background. The official says that teams of specialists have been dispatched to help detect and prevent this form of human trafficking….

Pacific Standard Magazine