- The Internal Revenue Service reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to share sensitive taxpayer data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities. The move marks a shift from the IRS’s longstanding policy of confidentiality.
- ICE can now request IRS records for individuals under federal criminal investigation who have been ordered to leave the U.S. but have overstayed their removal orders, as outlined in a memorandum of understanding submitted by the Trump administration.
- Immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit to block the data-sharing arrangement, arguing it breaches trust and may discourage undocumented immigrants from paying taxes, though a judge declined to issue an emergency order.
Full Story
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reached a deal with Homeland Security officials to share sensitive taxpayer data with federal immigration authorities, departing from its long-standing policy of maintaining confidentiality.
According to The New York Times, a redacted version of the deal states U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials can ask the IRS for information about people who have been ordered to leave the United States and are under federal criminal investigation.
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How did officials reach the deal?
Fox News reported the Trump administration submitted a memorandum of understanding to a court Monday, April 7. The memo outlined a process for ICE to request IRS records in its investigations of criminal immigrants who have not left the United States within 90 days of a judge’s final removal order.
A Treasury Department official told Fox the immigrants had already overstayed their removal orders. The memorandum aims to protect sensitive taxpayer data while allowing law enforcement to pursue criminal violations, adding that the Treasury Department is committed to protecting the privacy of law-abiding taxpayers.
Who’s involved in the movement against sharing the information?
Immigrant rights groups filed a lawsuit in March to block the IRS from giving data to ICE, calling it a breach of trust that will discourage undocumented immigrants from paying taxes in the future.
A judge declined to issue an emergency order.
