Technically, the agreement allows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to share information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) only about undocumented immigrants who are part of a judicial investigation, following a decision by a District Court in Washington, D.C.
However, the organization Public Citizen, which is leading the lawsuit against the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the IRS and ICE, warned that the immigration agency has requested information on at least 40,000 individuals.
Through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, the IRS was asked “to use confidential taxpayer data to verify their addresses,” the organization alleged, citing a report from the Washington Post.
On August 12, the Internal Revenue Service assured Judge Dabney L. Friedrich that it has not shared any information with ICE under the memorandum signed on April 7, 2025.
“In prior filings and hearings on this matter, the United States informed this Court that the IRS had not received any requests nor shared information with ICE under the MOU between DHS and the Department of the Treasury, dated April 7, 2025,” states a court document. “Since then, the IRS has responded to ICE’s requests for information on tax returns filed under the MOU.”
IRS attorney Andrew J. Weisberg stated that the agency “acted solely in accordance with the MOU” and Title 26 of the U.S. Code, Section 6103(i)(2).
“The IRS cannot legally share information about tax credits with ICE without a court order,” said Public Citizen attorney Nandan Joshi.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is reviewing whether the IRS can provide ICE with any information on undocumented immigrants with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).
Who Leads the IRS?
The controversy over sharing immigrant information comes as President Donald Trump fired Commissioner Billy Long, who had been confirmed by the Senate just months earlier.
“It is deeply concerning that an IRS commissioner, confirmed by the Senate, was fired for resisting pressure to violate legal protections on taxpayer privacy,” Joshi also stated.
Long was the sixth person to lead the IRS but was dismissed after clashing with President Trump over blocking the sharing of data on undocumented immigrants who pay taxes, according to the Washington Post, due to judicial restrictions.
The current head of the IRS is Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The tax agency has a system ready to share information on up to seven million people with ITINs.
The Public Citizen lawsuit is in collaboration with Alan Morrison and Raise the Floor Alliance, on behalf of United Workers Center, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, Inclusive Action for the City, and Immigrant Solidarity Dupage.
Image: Opinion
