US Border Patrol agents speak with a mother and daughter from Ecuador next to the border fence after detaining them on Sept. 10 in Penitas, Texas.

The Trump administration issued a proposal Monday that would authorize immigration officers to begin collecting DNA samples from undocumented immigrants who are being detained.

Administration officials believe DNA collection will aid border officials in better assessing the individuals who cross into the country without authorization, but the move will anger civil liberties proponents and immigrant advocates, who argue that the government should not draw sensitive personal information from people without being tied to a specific crime.

When Department of Homeland Security officials gave reporters a broad overview of the plan in early October, the ACLU said in a statement that forced “DNA collection raises serious privacy and civil liberties concerns and lacks justification, especially when DHS is already using less intrusive identification methods like fingerprinting."

The proposed regulation from the Department of Justice that enables immigration officers to collect DNA does not take effect immediately. There will be 20 days for the public to provide comments.

BuzzFeed News first reported in August that the Department of Justice was planning to issue a regulation to expand DNA collection of detained immigrants.

DHS and DOJ officials have been working on a pilot project that would allow officials to phase in the collection of DNA. The FBI will provide DHS with DNA collection kits and will analyze the samples collected, officials said.

“The proposed rule change would help to save lives and bring criminals to justice by restoring the authority of the Attorney General to authorize and direct the collection of DNA from non-United States persons detained at the border and the interior by DHS, with the ultimate goal of reducing victimization of innocent citizens,” said US Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen.