(NewsNation) — The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is close to finalizing an agreement that would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to access confidential taxpayer information to locate undocumented immigrants targeted for deportation, The Washington Post reported.
The proposed data-sharing arrangement would permit ICE to submit names and addresses of suspected undocumented immigrants to the IRS for verification against tax records.
This would mark a significant shift in longstanding IRS policy, which has traditionally kept taxpayer information strictly confidential.
According to portions of a draft agreement obtained by the Post, ICE access would be limited to confirming addresses of immigrants with final removal orders. Requests could only be submitted by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or acting ICE director Todd Lyons, per the Post.
The agreement would authorize data verification for individuals “subject to criminal investigation” for violating immigration law, the draft states.
Career officials at the IRS have expressed alarm about the proposed arrangement, concerned that it could misuse a narrow exception to taxpayer privacy laws intended for criminal investigations rather than immigration enforcement, the Post reported.
For decades, the IRS has assured undocumented immigrants that their tax information would remain confidential, encouraging them to file tax returns without fear of deportation. Approximately half of the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States file income tax returns, per the Post.
The potential agreement follows leadership changes at the IRS.
Last month, acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell rejected a DHS request for data on 700,000 suspected undocumented immigrants, deeming it unlawful. O’Donnell retired the following day after 38 years with the agency.
His successor, Melanie Krause, has reportedly shown greater willingness to collaborate with DHS officials, per the Post. The Trump administration also replaced the IRS’s top attorney, who had opposed sharing taxpayer data across agencies.
The move comes as President Donald Trump pushes his administration to utilize all available resources for what he has described as the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
Representatives for the DHS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The data-sharing agreement has not yet been finalized.
