Immigrants' tax data to be used to identify, deport undocumented individuals in US? Check details

A federal judge on Monday refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the US. In a big win for the Trump administration, US District Judge Dabney Friedrich denied a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit groups.

They argued that undocumented immigrants who pay taxes are entitled to the same privacy protections as US citizens and immigrants who are legally in the country. Friedrich, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, had previously refused to grant a temporary order in the case.

The decision comes less than a month after former acting IRS commissioner Melanie Krause resigned over the deal allowing ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the US illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.


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What did the judge say?

The judge denied a preliminary injunction sought by nonprofit groups who argued that undocumented immigrants who file taxes deserve the same privacy protections afforded to U.S. citizens and legal residents.

“The plaintiffs are disappointed in the Court's denial of our preliminary injunction, but the case is far from over. We are considering our options,” Alan Butler Morrison, the attorney representing the nonprofit groups, wrote in an email. He noted that the judge's ruling made it clear that the Department of Homeland Security and the IRS can't venture beyond the strict limitations spelled out in the case.

"So far, DHS has not made formal requests for taxpayer data and plaintiffs will be keeping a close watch to be sure that the defendants carry out their promises to follow the law and not use the exception for unlawful purposes,” Morrison said.

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In her ruling, Friedrich said the agreement doesn't violate the Internal Revenue Code, so the IRS hasn't substantially changed the way it handles taxpayer information. Instead, the Trump administration has decided to use already existing “statutorily authorized tools" to help with criminal investigations, Friedrich wrote.

Federal law allows the IRS to release some taxpayer information to other agencies if the information may assist in criminal enforcement proceedings, and the requesting agency meets certain criteria, the judge said.

Still, that doesn't mean that all the information the IRS holds can be turned over, Friedrich said. “In other words, the IRS can disclose information it obtains itself (such as through audits), but not information it obtains exclusively from the taxpayer (such as a tax return filed by the taxpayer),” Friedrich wrote. She noted the law contains a significant exception — a taxpayer's identity, including the individual's name, address or taxpayer identifying number, isn't considered part of the protected tax return information.

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Under the agreement, ICE is allowed to submit the names and addresses of individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants to the IRS, which then compares the information with existing tax records. Normally, tax data is legally protected and unauthorized disclosure can lead to criminal charges.

The IRS has experienced internal conflict over the administration’s efforts to expand access to confidential taxpayer information. A former acting commissioner stepped down following public outcry over a separate incident, in which Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) reportedly obtained sensitive IRS records.

The Treasury Department has defended the deal, framing it as part of President Trump’s broader immigration enforcement agenda. That agenda has featured mass deportations, workplace immigration raids, and the use of the rarely-invoked Alien Enemies Act—an 18th-century wartime law—to speed up the deportation of Venezuelan nationals.

(With AP inputs)