IRS Unlawfully Disclosed Taxpayer Data to ICE

A federal judge, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, ruled that the United States===Internal Revenue Service unlawfully disclosed confidential taxpayer information approximately 42,695 times to United States===United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This action violated IRS Code 6103, one of the strictest confidentiality laws, as the IRS failed to ensure ICE's requests met statutory requirements for providing taxpayer addresses. The disclosures were part of a data-sharing agreement signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, aimed at identifying and deporting individuals illegally in the United States. Dottie Romo, IRS' chief risk and control officer, provided a declaration detailing the extent of these violations. The Center for Taxpayer Rights, founded by Nina E. Olson, has been actively challenging this policy. While the government is appealing the decision, this ruling is a significant development in ongoing litigation, although a preliminary injunction request from groups like Centro de Trabajadores Unidos was previously declined by Judge Harry T. Edwards.