The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will soon be working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to support the Trump administration’s efforts to curb illegal immigration.
The two agencies are close to hammering out an agreement in which the IRS will help DHS locate individuals who are believed to be residing in the country illegally, CNN reported.
The agreement would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement to submit names and addresses of people it suspects of living in the country illegally to the IRS, which the tax agency would then cross-reference and confirm, the person said.
Tax information has generally been closely held within the IRS, and laws prohibit improper disclosure of taxpayer information. The IRS has encouraged undocumented migrants to file taxes, a process that includes providing the agency with their addresses, employers and earnings.
CNN reported earlier this year that DHS had circulated a draft memo to the IRS that represented a sweeping request for information about suspected undocumented immigrants, including the home addresses of several hundred thousand individuals who paid federal taxes based on their individual taxpayer identification numbers, according to a source with direct knowledge of the document.
Privacy experts say that would be a violation of the strict disclosure laws that the IRS operates under which prohibit the release of tax information by an IRS employee.
The draft the person described Sunday appears to be a narrower version of the earlier draft. Under the current iteration, the IRS would confirm migrants’ addresses rather than provide the information to ICE.
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The IRS is nearing an agreement to allow immigration officials to use tax data to confirm the names and addresses of people suspected of being in the country illegally.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 23, 2025
The IRS has for years reassured undocumented workers that their tax info is confidential and that it's safe to…
Illegal immigrants often file tax returns with the IRS despite their legal status. The agency collects information on where these individuals live, their families, and their employers, according to The New York Times.
Tax information is closely guarded because federal law bars improper disclosure. I.R.S. officials had resisted earlier requests from the Department of Homeland Security to turn over information about unauthorized immigrants, warning that doing so could violate federal law.
But the Trump administration has since replaced the top I.R.S. lawyer, and the agreement now under discussion appears to be narrower than an earlier request, which asked the I.R.S. to hand over, rather than confirm, migrants’ addresses.
Trump in February announced that the administration would be using IRS workers to assist in deportation efforts. He indicated that he might send almost 90,000 IRS agents to the southern border to help border authorities capture illegals trying to sneak into the country.
A memo dated February 7 revealed that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem tasked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with deputizing law enforcement personnel, including IRS agents, to aid in immigration enforcement efforts. IRS agents are often armed and possess the authority to make arrests, making them suitable candidates to support the president’s deportation initiatives.
IRS agents also have access to information databases for businesses and individuals through its audit functions, which allows them to enforce the ban on hiring illegal immigrants. A William Mitchell law review highlighted that using IRS agents to address illegal immigration shifts the cost of deportation onto those profiting from bringing illegal immigrants to the U.S. rather than burdening taxpayers. It also noted that the approach could strengthen enforcement by incentivizing informants, encouraging civilians to report violations, and helping enforce the law.
This action will likely be challenged in court five minutes after it goes into effect. Democrats have been using the court system to stymie Trump’s agenda on immigration and other matters.
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