An agreement between the United States Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement is closer to being finalized despite the heavy opposition it’s brought.
If the agreement is finalized, the IRS would potentially hand over taxpayer information of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants to ICE.
No matter their legal status, immigrants are required to pay taxes the same as U.S. citizens. Rather than filing with a Social Security number, noncitizens can apply for an individual taxpayer identification number, or ITIN, through the IRS to file their taxes.
The IRS’ privacy policy currently states that all personal information is used only for its intended purpose and that “the IRS may not disclose tax returns or return information unless authorized by law.” If taxpayer information is used for any other secondary purpose, the individual will be notified.
But under its pending agreement with ICE, the IRS would hand over names and addresses of taxpayers to ICE so its agents can then cross-reference potential undocumented immigrants who have final removal orders, according to The Washington Post. People who are familiar with the drafting agreement told the Post that though “tax information may be shared with other federal law enforcement under certain, limited conditions — and typically with approval from a court,” this particular situation “would be unusual, if not unprecedented, for taxpayer privacy law exceptions to be used to justify cooperation with immigration enforcement.”
One former IRS official said, “It is a complete betrayal of 30 years of the government telling immigrants to file their taxes.”
The only people authorized to request information from the IRS would be Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.
Legal pushback
Last week a Donald Trump-appointed federal judge denied motions to block the IRS from sharing tax records concerning illegal immigration with government agencies, including with the Department of Homeland Security. In late February, DHS requested that the IRS hand over the addresses of nearly 700,000 undocumented immigrants they are seeking to deport. According to The New York Times, no addresses have been given.
In response, earlier this month, two nonprofit groups from Chicago filed a complaint against the IRS and Treasury Department, arguing that federal law does not allow the IRS to share personal taxpayer data with immigration authorities.
U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich told the two groups, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos and Immigrant Solidarity Dupage, that they “have not established a likelihood of success on the merits” in their complaints, per Thomson Reuters.
In their complaint, the nonprofits argued that the two plaintiffs would violate IRS disclosure laws, which protect personal taxpayer information.
However, “The plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate standing,” Friedrich said in her filing. “The plaintiffs allege that the IRS may unlawfully share their members’ confidential tax records with DHS or other government officials, in violation” of Section 6103. She added that just because news reports have suggested it, doesn’t mean “future cooperation between the IRS and DHS does not establish that the plaintiffs’ members are facing imminent injury.”
Friedrich also added that “statutory exemptions to Section 6103 exist allowing for authorized tax information access and disclosure, such as ‘for use in criminal investigations and proceedings.’”