US officials have resorted to DNA testing on up to 3,000 detained children who remain separated from their migrant parents, a top official said Thursday as President Donald Trump's administration struggles to rapidly reunite families at the centre of a border crisis.
The controversial, newly announced procedures are part of government efforts to meet rapidly approaching court-imposed deadlines for reuniting children with their parents, and come as the president himself once again demanded swift action by Congress to fix the country's "insane" immigration laws.
The Department of Health and Human Services is "doing DNA testing to confirm parentage quickly and accurately," HHS Secretary Alex Azar told reporters on a conference call, as his team said the procedure was being conducted through "harmless" cheek swabs.
Normally used as a last-resort means of identification — if birth certificates or other documents are unavailable — DNA testing is being used to speed the process.