New rules mean you have to hand over your DNA to US border control if you’re detained – or you will be arrested

YOU could be forced to give a sample of your DNA to be allowed to enter the US at border control.

New laws being introduced by the government will make it a legal requirement if detained while travelling.

A new memo published by the Department of Homeland Security said travellers with a green card could be “subject to DNA testing, as well as asylum seekers and people entering the country without authorization,” according .

It also added that refusing could lead to criminal charges.

Once the DNA is collected, using saliva swabs, it will then be mailed to the FBI and put into the criminal database and held “indefinitely”.

The new laws, to be tested on January 13 at the Canadian border near Detroit, and the Mexican border at Texas, will apply to all travellers, both US and foreign.

People as young as 14 will be subject to the tests.

While the government adds that DNA will not be taken from people entering the country legally, or are held for additional screening but are not detained, former mistakes have led to wrongly identifying visitors.

Last year, a tourist was jailed for 82 days after he was caught carrying bottles of honey which they thought was liquid meth.

A British tourist was locked up for 24 hours and deported after border officials read a text to his girlfriend which said “I am moving to be near you”.

Brian Hastings, chief of the Border Patrol’s law enforcement directorate told CBC that border patrol agents were “not trained” on how to retrieve or handle DNA samples.

The FBI explained they would be shown a “training video”.

A nine-year-old girl was left in tears after being told she was not able to go to Disney World as she didn’t the right visa.

Even former One Direction singer Zayn Malik was detained at an airport in the US after his “name flagged up on the security system”.

Sun Online Travel has contacted the US Embassy for comment.