WASHINGTON — A pair of House Democratic lawmakers are questioning Trump administration officials about why a Canadian retiree was required to provide a DNA sample under the threat of jail time while trying to cross the Blue Water Bridge into Port Huron, Michigan.

Kevin Larson, 68, of Kincardine, Ontario, has no known criminal record and was trying to cross the border to Michigan on Oct. 18, 2025, to attend a No Kings protest in Port Huron against the policies of President Donald Trump, according to the lawmakers.

After three hours, during which he was subjected to fingerprinting, a phone search and the collection of his DNA via a cheek swab, he was denied entry, Larson told The Detroit News on Wednesday.

When he asked the officer why he was being turned away, Larson said he was told it was due to the nature of his planned activity, i.e., attending an anti-Trump protest.

U.S. Customs and Border Patrol didn't charge Larson with any crime or immigration violation, nor was he formally detained before being returned to Canada, according to Democratic U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingell of Ann Arbor and Jamie Raskin of Maryland. Their Tuesday letter was addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Attorney General Pam Bondi ahead of this weekend's next No Kings rallies on March 28.

"You may not have heard, but Canada is our major trading partner, our friend, our neighbor, and one of our strongest allies in defending democratic freedom around the world against fascism and authoritarianism," Dingell and Raskin wrote.

"Canadians and Americans regularly cross the border in both directions to shop, work, and visit family. Episodes like this risk undermining that longstanding relationship and are already contributing to a chilling effect on cross-border travel and engagement."

The Department of Homeland Security and CBP did not respond to questions from The Detroit News on Tuesday or Wednesday about the agency's basis and practices for DNA collection or why Larson was denied entry at the Blue Water Bridge.

Who is the retired Canadian who was denied entry to Michigan for a No Kings rally?

Larson is a retired power plant health physicist who spent his career teaching radiation safety training to workers at a power plant in Ontario, Larson said. The blog Shifting Gears first reported his CBP encounter.

"It was chilling and upsetting and, at one level, it's heartbreaking. I told you stories about how dear I hold the relationship between Canada and the U.S.," Larson said in a Wednesday interview.

"At the very least, I want my DNA destroyed. It does not belong in a criminal database, which is where I understand it went."

Dingell and Raskin are demanding answers from the Republican Trump administration about why Larson was denied entry and the basis for requiring Larson to submit a DNA sample under threat of criminal prosecution.

They also want to know CBP's policy and criteria for DNA collection, how it's being implemented at ports of entry and how many individuals have been required to provide DNA at ports of entry while not being charged with or suspected of a crime.

When can federal agencies take DNA samples from suspects, foreign visitors?

The federal government does have the power to collect DNA from individuals who are convicted, arrested or facing charges or from non-citizens detained by federal agents. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told NPR that federal law actually requires federal law enforcement to collect DNA samples from individuals arrested or facing charges.

Last week, NPR reported that it found six protesters in Illinois, Oregon and Minnesota who described federal immigration officers taking samples of their DNA after they were arrested in recent months.

CBP guidance dated December 2020, however, said that CBP does not collect DNA from aliens held at a port of entry during a consideration of admissibility and not subject to further detention or proceedings, or from aliens lawfully in or being processed for lawful admission into the United States.

The CBP document also said the DNA collected is added to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s CODIS database.

"As a Canadian, I care so much, and I appreciate the prosperity and security we’ve benefited from by having such a great neighbor," Larson said.

"I felt an obligation to go to Port Huron and walk with people with my flag and to let them know we care about you guys. I knew going across the border there probably was a 50-50 chance they'd send me back, but I knew I had to try."

What happened between the Canadian retiree and border agents

That morning in October, Larson had printed out driving directions to the site of the No Kings rally in Port Huron that he had on the front seat of his car. He wanted to attend the protest to let Americans know that "we care about you guys," he said.

When asked the purpose of his visit at the screening booth, Larson declared to the CBP officer on the Blue Water Bridge that he was going to the No Kings rally, he said. The officer then asked if Larson had any signs, and Larson replied that he did not, just a Canadian flag that he had permission to display at the protest, he said.

The officer informed Larson that he had been flagged for a "random check" and should pull over to the CBP building.

CBP gave him a document attesting that he wouldn’t provide assistance to terrorists, and he signed it. The officers took his picture and fingerprinted him.

"At no time did they say I was being arrested, investigated for a crime or that I’d broken any immigration law or anything," Larson said.

Canadian told he faced a year in prison for refusing to provide a DNA sample

He initially refused to provide a DNA sample for privacy reasons, but the officer and his supervisor said Larson risked being charged, facing a year in prison.

"I did say yes to the DNA sample, mainly because I didn’t want to get any sort of ban on coming into the states," said Larson, who has a cousin living in Georgia whom he visited regularly.

"I talked to the one main officer that I was working with, and I said: Why is this all happening?" Larson added. "He said ― and I wrote it down ― You are being denied entry 'due to the nature of your planned activity.'"

However, the CBP document that he was sent home with lists the reason that his entry was denied as being "insufficient evidence provided for intended purpose of entry to the U.S."

Larson contended the document makes a false statement, as the CBP officers had listened to his story and reviewed the paperwork on his passenger seat, including email instructions from the protest organizer and a map to the protest site at Pine Grove Park.

The paperwork also claims that Larson had no documents with him, which is untrue because he carried his Canadian passport, he said.

When he got home, Larson wrote up his experience and sent letters to Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, both of Michigan's U.S. senators, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

"Today, all I wanted to do was participate in a peaceful assembly. Your CBP personnel could not find any evidence whatsoever of any past or planned ill behavior. Nothing. But I was denied entry," Larson wrote to Hoekstra.

"Not only that, I was forced under the threat of criminal prosecution to submit a DNA sample to return to Canada. ... If other Canadians are experiencing what I went through, I am sure you can see why there is rising anti-American sentiment about which you are so 'disappointed.'"

Canadian plans to stop U.S. visits because 'It's just getting too scary'

Larson organized his own No Tyrants Rally for Saturday in the city of Owen Sound for "concerned citizens" in Grey and Bruce counties. The purpose is to show solidarity with No Kings rallies across the U.S. and to "raise alarm bells on any King-like (autocratic) attacks on Canada and Canadians," a flyer reads.

Larson loves the United States and used to cross the border three to four times a year, he said. But he won't be crossing the border again until something changes, he said.

"This is so hurtful, what's going on," Larson said. "They'll flag me every time. My wife and I have decided we're not going into the states anymore. It's just getting too scary."

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