IRS edging towards deal to utilize data for tracking undocumented migrants by ICE
The Looming Pact:
The IRS is on the verge of inking a deal with the Department of Homeland Security, as per sources, aimed at uncovering alleged undocumented immigrants residing within the US borders. This move is another notch in President Donald Trump's hardline immigration enforcement strategy.
The potential agreement involves Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) handing over the names and addresses of individuals suspected of illegally dwelling in the country. Subsequently, the IRS would cross-reference and verify this data, according to a familiar source.
Taxpayer data has traditionally been held in high regard within the IRS, with stringent laws in place to prevent misuse. However, the IRS encourages undocumented immigrants to file taxes, a process that demands providing the agency with addresses, employers, and earnings.
Back in early 2021, it came to light that DHS had proposed a draft memo to the IRS, seeking extensive information about suspected undocumented immigrants, including home addresses of taxpayers based on their Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs). This move was met with criticism, as it might've breached the strict confidentiality laws that the IRS adheres to.
The forthcoming agreement seems to take a narrower approach, with the IRS confirming migrants' addresses rather than providing the information directly to ICE. However, this represents a significant departure from the IRS's traditional stance on safeguarding taxpayer information.
Requests for this data would need to be submitted by either DHS Secretary Kristi Noem or acting ICE director Todd Lyons, providing the name, address, and removal order date. Two immigrant rights groups in Chicago have recently taken legal action against the Treasury Department and IRS, challenging the agency's potential sharing of taxpayer data with ICE or DHS, citing federal law as the basis for their claim.
The groups argue that federal law prevents the IRS from divulging such information to immigration authorities, as ICE and DHS are not listed as exceptions to the confidentiality rules outlined in the tax code. As the immigration enforcement push continues, the legality and privacy implications of this potential IRS-ICE agreement remain a topic of ongoing debate.
Insights:
- Law Enforcement Context: Under the proposed agreement, the IRS is set to share taxpayer information with ICE, a departure from its historically strict confidentiality practices, except in specific law enforcement contexts.
- Legal and Privacy Concerns: Sharing sensitive taxpayer data with ICE could potentially violate the strict confidentiality laws the IRS operates under, designed to prevent improper disclosure. Legal action has already been initiated to challenge the potential data transfer, claiming it breaches federal disclosure laws.
- Immigration Enforcement Efforts: The move aligns with broader efforts by the administration to strengthen immigration enforcement, including requests for IRS agents to assist in deportations.
[1]: Source 1: "IRS to Share Immigration Enforcement Data" by The Washington Post[2]: Source 2: "IRS Model Letters to Employers for ITIN Holders" by IRS[3]: Source 3: "IRS-DHS Data Sharing Agreement Rumored" by CNN[4]: Source 4: "Lawsuit Challenges IRS-ICE Data Sharing" by National Public Radio[5]: Source 5: "The Dangers of Hiding Undocumented Immigrants from the IRS" by The Hill
- The forthcoming deal between the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security, under President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement strategy, appears to involve sharing taxpayer data, which has traditionally been protected, to identify suspected undocumented migrants living within US borders.
- Despite the potential agreement taking a narrower approach, by confirming migrants' addresses rather than directly providing information to ICE, it represents a departure from the IRS's traditional stance on safeguarding taxpayer information and raises legal and privacy concerns concerning potential breaches of the strict confidentiality laws that the IRS adheres to.
- Two immigrant rights groups in Chicago have challenged this potential IRS-ICE data sharing in a recent legal action, contending that federal law prevents the IRS from disclosing such information to immigration authorities, as ICE and DHS are not listed as exceptions to the confidentiality rules outlined in the tax code.
