U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich has denied an injunction that sought to prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from sharing taxpayer information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The ruling allows the IRS to move forward with cooperation with ICE under a recent agreement aimed at supporting criminal immigration enforcement efforts.
In a 16-page opinion issued Monday, Judge Friedrich dismissed arguments from four left-wing nonprofit groups — including Centro de Trabajadores Unidos and Somos Un Pueblo Unido — who contended that the data-sharing agreement violated federal tax confidentiality laws. The plaintiffs had sought to block the IRS from sharing Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) data with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), arguing that it would negatively impact undocumented immigrants who file taxes in good faith.
However, Friedrich ruled that the agreement between the IRS and DHS, outlined in an April 7 Memorandum of Understanding, does not violate federal statutes as long as strict legal procedures are adhered to. “The Memorandum explicitly authorizes the sharing of certain tax return information for criminal immigration enforcement purposes,” the ruling states, affirming that such sharing is lawful.
The plaintiffs argued that the IRS was bypassing federal privacy laws and altering its long-established policy without considering the “reliance interests” of immigrants who have complied with tax filing requirements. However, the court dismissed these claims, stating that the IRS is legally obligated to provide taxpayer identity information — including names and addresses — to federal agencies conducting criminal investigations, as long as they submit a valid written request.
“As long as the agency has a name and an address for a taxpayer, it can request address and name information from the IRS to assist the requesting agency in a criminal investigation or proceeding, and the IRS must comply,” the judge wrote. Friedrich was direct in her evaluation of the plaintiffs’ legal standing. While the group Somos Un Pueblo Unido was found to have standing to challenge whether the IRS acted beyond its legal authority, the court determined that none of the plaintiffs had standing to challenge the agreement on the grounds that it could be used for civil deportation enforcement.
“At this stage, the plaintiffs have not established that it is likely that IRS disclosures will be used to ‘facilitate the civil enforcement of immigration laws’ … and thus, they lack standing to raise this claim,” Friedrich stated. The ruling stated that the IRS is prohibited from sharing information solely for civil immigration purposes unless there is clear intent for criminal enforcement in the request. ICE must show a criminal investigative basis for each case, and the IRS is required to review every request to ensure it complies with the law.
