IRS Illegally Shared Tax Data with ICE 40,000+ Times
NEWS & RESEARCH
Despite long-standing assurances of privacy, the IRS shared confidential taxpayer data with immigration enforcement under an unlawful Trump-administration agreement. The courts eventually struck down the pact, but not before the IRS violated federal law 47,000 times by providing names and addresses to Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction against an IRS policy through which IRS shared names and addresses with ICE. The panel found that the policy violates a law approved by Congress after the Nixon-era Watergate scandal to prohibit the IRS from "sharing tax return information with any other federal agency unless the requesting agency meets stringent conditions,"
SOURCES: Washington Post | Washington Post | Courthouse News
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Privacy Violations: Critics and advocates, including the Center for Taxpayer Rights, warn this "unprecedented" data aggregation targets individuals maliciously and undermines the integrity of the tax system.
Broken Trust: The breach contradicts years of official promises that paying taxes would not trigger immigration enforcement.
SOURCES: Washington Post | PBS News | NPR
HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Investigate: Support a Treasury Inspector General (TIGTA) investigation into the data leak.
“Demand Transparency: “Urge the passage of H. Res. 1097, a Resolution of Inquiry requiring Treasury andDHS to surrender all records regarding the illegal sharing agreement.
Legal recourse: Support ongoing federal injunctions and legal challenges to permanently block IRS-DHS data sharing.
