A federal court has blocked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from sharing information about potential undocumented immigrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotellly of the District of Columbia District Court ruled on June 21st, prohibiting the IRS from providing sensitive information to ICE to assist in immigration enforcement. “Sharing taxpayer information violates laws that protect taxpayer confidentiality,” Kollar-Kotellly stated.<\/p>\n
The ruling is seen as a deterrent to immigration enforcement efforts to use taxpayer information, which is generally considered confidential, to deport undocumented immigrants.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, in June, ICE requested the personal information of approximately 1.3 million individuals from the IRS, and in August, the IRS provided the addresses of approximately 47,000 individuals. In response, the Taxpayers’ Rights Centre and others filed a lawsuit to prohibit the IRS and immigration authorities from sharing information for immigration enforcement purposes, and the court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs. The court concluded that the information sharing violated federal laws protecting taxpayer information and the Administrative Procedure Act.<\/p>\n
Judge Kola-Kotelli stated, “The IRS failed to justify its decision to enter into an information-sharing agreement with ICE, which violated the Administrative Procedure Act.”<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs welcomed the ruling, stating, “This is a significant victory for millions of Americans whose personal information has been threatened by the Trump administration,” and “Paying taxes does not mean you lose your right to privacy. \u201cThe IRS, however, has not commented on the ruling.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration may appeal the ruling, but it is unclear whether it will.<\/p>\n
The IRS has long encouraged people without immigration status to file taxes, and many tax attorneys and immigration advocates have believed that IRS information would not be used for deportation purposes.<\/p>\n
According to a report from the Yale Budget Institute, undocumented workers are estimated to have paid a staggering $66 billion in federal taxes in 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"