Federal Judge Allows IRS to Share Immigrant Tax Data with ICE

A federal judge, Dabney Friedrich, denied a preliminary injunction blocking the IRS from sharing tax data of immigrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), allowing continued collaboration for immigration enforcement. The ruling, viewed as a victory for the Trump administration, upheld that the IRS's data-sharing complies with a specific section of the Internal Revenue Code permitting disclosure of taxpayer information for criminal investigations, provided statutory prerequisites are met. Nonprofit groups challenging the arrangement argued that undocumented immigrants paying taxes deserve privacy protections equivalent to those of citizens and legal residents, but the court found no violation of the law. The decision follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS that formalizes the process for exchanging information on individuals under criminal investigation. This ruling comes amid concerns about privacy rights and the use of taxpayer data for deportation efforts, as well as internal IRS turmoil, including the resignation of a former acting IRS commissioner over the deal. The Treasury Department maintains that the agreement supports the broader Trump administration agenda to secure U.S. borders through intensified immigration enforcement.