Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Thursday that over 1,000 “false families” that were apprehended crossing the southern border have been detected thanks to DNA testing.

"We are utilizing DNA sampling right now in the border environment trying to ferret out the false families," ICE acting director Matthew Albence said in a press briefing on Thursday, according to the Washington Examiner.

He went on to criticize a federal judge for ruling to limit the agency’s ability to ask local law enforcement to hold illegal immigrants until ICE can apprehend them.

“This decision will threaten public safety as it will lead to the release of criminal aliens back onto the street,” Albence said, according to the Washington Times.

“Our agency’s authorities are being singled out and marginalized in ways no other federal law enforcement agency has to tolerate,” he added.

The judge issued a permanent injunction that prevents ICE from only using electronic databases when issuing detainers after determining that the agency’s databases weren’t reliable enough.

“This conclusion is out of step with the realities of modern law enforcement, endangers the public and construes probable cause in an unfairly restrictive way,” Albence said, according to Fox News. “Moreover this decision, issued by a single judge in Los Angeles will impact at least 43 states, threatening communities far beyond the one in which this judge sits.”