By Steve Neavling
The Internal Revenue Service is close to finalizing a deal to let immigration officials access taxpayer information to confirm the names and addresses of people suspected of being in the country illegally, four people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
Under the proposed agreement, ICE could submit names and addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants to the IRS for cross-referencing with confidential tax records. Such disclosures are typically barred under federal law and carry civil and criminal penalties.
IRS officials have raised concerns that the plan would stretch a rarely used legal exception designed for criminal investigations, not immigration enforcement.
According to a draft obtained by The Post, ICE could request address verification for immigrants with final deportation orders. Requests would need to come from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem or acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and include personal identifiers. The data would be used for people “subject to criminal investigation” for immigration violations.
“It is a complete betrayal of 30 years of the government telling immigrants to file their taxes,” a former IRS official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
For years, the IRS has assured undocumented immigrants that filing taxes would not expose them to deportation. Researchers estimate that at least half of the roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. file tax returns. Many hope doing so will strengthen future bids for legal status.
The deal would reverse a decision just last month, when IRS leadership rejected a DHS request for taxpayer data on 700,000 suspected undocumented immigrants. Then-acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell and agency lawyers ruled the request unlawful. O’Donnell retired the next day.
His successor, Melanie Krause, and the agency’s new acting chief counsel, Andrew De Mello, have since held multiple meetings with Treasury and DHS officials to reach an agreement, sources said.
