
According to four sources familiar with the matter, the IRS is approaching a deal that allows immigration officials to use tax data to confirm the identity and address of suspected undocumented immigrants. This is part of the Trump administration’s push for mass deportation. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be able to cross-reference taxpayer databases, which are often protected by privacy laws. The proposed agreement could mark a shift in how federal agencies deal with tax information and immigration enforcement. ICE can only require data to be presented to people who have ordered to leave the country, with limitations on what can be accessed. The Career Commission is concerned that using tax data in this way could set dangerous precedents, believing that privacy law exceptions are intended to assist criminal investigations rather than immigration enforcement. Immigration from senior officials such as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Acting Ice Director Todd Lyons, many of whom filed taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITINS), have been convinced that their tax information will not be shared with immigration authorities. If approved, the agreement would be very different from previous policies, especially after the IRS rejected a similar request from the DHS a few weeks ago. But the change in leadership has shown in the IRS and the updated discussion that this shift will soon become a reality.
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