In a significant win for the Trump administration, a federal judge ruled that Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) can move forward with using IRS data to help locate and deport illegal immigrants, rejecting a request to block the partnership between Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Internal Revenue System (IRS). This marks a significant step in President Donald Trump’s broader effort to tighten border security and crack down on those in the country unlawfully.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich rejected a request from nonprofit groups seeking to block the policy, arguing that illegal aliens who file taxes should receive the same privacy rights as U.S. citizens and legal residents. Friedrich had previously refused to grant a temporary order in the case.
“At its core, this case presents a narrow legal issue: Does the Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS violate the Internal Revenue Code? It does not," Friedrich wrote in his order.
The order now permits ICE to send the names and addresses of illegal immigrants to the IRS, which can then review their tax records and share updated address information with immigration authorities.
“The Court agrees that requesting and receiving information for civil enforcement purposes would constitute a cognizable injury, but none of the organizations have established that such an injury is imminent," the order continued. "As the plaintiffs acknowledge, the Memorandum only allows sharing information for criminal investigations.”
The ruling followed the resignation of former acting IRS commissioner Melanie Krause, who stepped down amid controversy over an agreement permitting ICE to send the names and addresses of undocumented immigrants to the IRS for comparison with tax records. A previous acting commissioner also went into early retirement over the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) getting access to IRS taxpayer data.
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