Will ICE and IRS Deal Apply to Deportation Investigations? What We Know

Immigration officials will be able to access tax information about people they want to deport under a new agreement with the IRS.

Newsweek sought email comment from the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday outside of regular office hours.

Why It Matters

This marks the first time that IRS tax records will be used to track people being sought for immigration violations. It could affect thousands of people living in the U.S.

What to Know

On April 7, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signed an agreement, on behalf of the IRS, with Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, that will allow the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) to access Revenue records.

Within hours, the Chicago-based community group, Centro De Trabajadores Unidos, filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C, seeking an injunction that would prevent the IRS from sharing the information.

As part of the lawsuit, the IRS shared a heavily redacted copy of its agreement with Homeland Security.

It shows that the IRS has agreed to share the name, address and tax number of the person being sought by ICE, as well as their taxation period and other information.

The agreement states that information obtained by ICE will solely be used “for the preparation of judicial or administrative proceedings, or investigation that may lead to such proceedings pertaining to the enforcement of 8 U.S.C 1253 (a)(1), other specifically designated federal criminal statute, or any subsequent criminal proceedings.”

8 U.S.C 1253 (a)(1) outlines the “penalty for failure to depart” and relates to “any alien against whom a final order of removal is outstanding” and “willfully fails or refuses to depart from the United States within a period of 90 days from the date of the final order of removal under administrative processes, or if judicial review is had, then from the date of the final order of the court.”

To avoid the wrongful sharing of information, “ICE must report suspected unauthorized inspection or disclosure of Federal tax returns and return information within 24 hours of discovery to the IRS Office of Safeguards,” the agreement states.

Melanie Krause, who had served as acting commissioner of the IRS since February, will step down following Monday’s signing of a memorandum of agreement, according to two people familiar with the decision who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

What People Are Saying

The campaign group Public Citizen, which states that it “has been standing up to corporate power and holding government accountable for 50 years,” wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on April 8: “The IRS agreed to share legally protected taxpayer information with DHS and ICE. Federal law clearly protects taxpayer privacy.”

“This agreement is illegal. This is an assault on every single taxpayer’s rights and will destroy lives.”

Kathleen Evey Walters, the chief privacy officer in the Internal Revenue Service, filed a sworn statement to the Washington, D.C, court on April 7 in which she wrote that “as of April 7, 2025, DHS and ICE have not requested the [tax] return information of any taxpayers” pursuant to the ICE/IRS agreement.

“Between March 17, 2025, and April 7, 2025, the IRS has not received any requests for taxpayer information from DHS or ICE and has not provided any return information to DHS or ICE,” she added.

What Happens Next

A Washington, D.C federal judge will first have to decide whether to impose a temporary restraining order on the IRS while the court considers the case.

The judge will then have to decide whether to impose a longer-lasting preliminary injunction, which could then be appealed to a higher court.