United States Immigration and Customs is planning to fingerprint the parents claiming immigrant children who enter the country illegally. 31,000 of these parents were found claiming children in 2014 and 2015, all coming from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, and at the same time about 28,000 unaccompanied minors were found trying to cross into the US.

Fingerprinting these adults would ensure that the people claiming children truly are parents and that they do not have criminal records. DNA tests and other procedures already ensure children are related to the parents, so the Department of Health and Human Services disagrees with the fingerprinting proposal. Because obtaining a fingerprint would elongate the reunion of parent and child and impede the filial relationship, HHS does not support the proposal.