FamiLee Life

DNA Testing and Immigration

I wonder whether I would be here today if my father had to take a DNA test to get his visa back in 1964. In the Washington Post, there is an interesting article about the rising number of cases in which immigrants seeking to sponsor their families are being asked to undergo DNA testing to prove familial relations. On the surface, this seems a reasonable advance in immigration procedures given the increased accuracy of DNA testing. However, it is equally troubling on a number of fronts.

First, it reminds me of the difficulties that were imposed on Chinese immigrants during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 when the U.S. government intentionally and forcibly sought to exclude Chinese from coming to America, even those with family here. A visit to Angel Island is a history lesson that is often not told.

Second, DNA testing takes a very narrow, very biological view of family. What about families formed through adoption or through second marriages? What about extended kinship families that may even include non-relatives who are raised as part of a larger family system (e.g., Hawaiian Hanai)?

Third, immigration is costly yet the return to American society is immeasurable. The cost of DNA testing makes it financially impossible for some families to be reunited. At $800 a pop, many people will not be able to afford to get the testing done, except those who are privileged and affluent.