A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has ruled in favor of the Trump administration, allowing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to continue sharing certain taxpayer information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The decision dealt a setback to the immigrant rights group Centro de Trabajadores Unidos and other nonprofits, which had sought to temporarily block the data-sharing agreement.
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The agreement, finalized in April by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, allows ICE to submit the names and addresses of immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status to the IRS for verification against tax records. Critics argued the arrangement violated privacy protections, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit denied a request for a preliminary injunction.
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Judge Harry Edwards stated that the groups were “unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claim,” noting that the information exchanged is not restricted under the IRS privacy statute. “Deporting illegal aliens makes the American people safer,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said, describing the ruling on social media as a “crucial victory” for the administration.
Court filings indicated the IRS verified roughly 47,000 of the 1.28 million names requested by ICE. For fewer than 5% of those individuals, the agency provided additional address information, potentially raising privacy concerns.
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The agreement was designed to assist ICE in locating individuals who might be unlawfully collecting benefits or using false identities. Critics have warned that fear of data-sharing could deter immigrants from filing taxes. Experts, however, emphasize that many illegal immigrants contribute substantially to federal, state, and local taxes.
The court’s ruling underscores ongoing tensions between privacy protections and federal immigration enforcement, leaving the IRS-ICE data-sharing program intact as the broader legal challenge continues.
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