Federal Judge Finds IRS Violated Law Thousands of Times in Data-Sharing Scheme
A federal judge has issued a landmark ruling that the Internal Revenue Service violated federal law "approximately 42,695 times" when it shared confidential taxpayer information with immigration authorities. The decision from District Judge Coleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington, D.C., represents a significant legal condemnation of data-sharing practices initiated during Donald Trump's administration.
Systemic Failure to Protect Taxpayer Privacy
The judge determined that the IRS unlawfully disclosed taxpayer information for thousands of individuals to the Department of Homeland Security as part of a controversial agreement designed to track down and arrest people living in the country without legal status. This systematic violation occurred despite federal rules specifically designed to protect sensitive taxpayer data from improper disclosure.
According to the ruling, federal law requires agencies seeking taxpayer information to provide the IRS with the name and address of the specific individual they are investigating. This safeguard exists to prevent broad exposure of confidential information beyond the scope of legitimate requests. However, the judge found that "this didn't happen in this case", with the IRS failing to verify that Immigration and Customs Enforcement provided valid addresses for the people it was seeking.
Shocking Revelations About Deficient Requests
The scale of the privacy violations became clearer through a declaration from Dottie Romo, the IRS's chief risk and control officer, who revealed disturbing details about ICE's information requests. In many cases, ICE's requests didn't include addresses at all, with entries marked as:
- "Failed to Provide"
- "Unknown Address"
- "NA NA"
Even more concerning, when addresses were provided, they were frequently incomplete, incorrect, or listed detention centers and prisons as taxpayer addresses. The IRS disclosed last-known taxpayer addresses to ICE without confirming the validity of the information provided, leading to what the judge described as "patently deficient" requests that should never have been honored.
Legal and Privacy Experts React
Nina Olson, founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights whose organization sued the IRS, stated: "This confirms what we've been saying all along: that the IRS has an unlawful policy that violates the Internal Revenue Code's protections by releasing these addresses in a way that violates the law's requirement."
Tom Bowman, policy counsel with the Center for Democracy and Technology, emphasized the broader implications: "The privacy breach is a stark reminder of why safeguards for sensitive data are so critical. The improper sharing of taxpayer data is unsafe, unlawful, and subject to serious criminal penalties." He added that "once taxpayer data is opened to immigration enforcement, mistakes are inevitable and the consequences fall on innocent people."
Broader Legal Battle Over Data-Sharing Agreement
This ruling represents the latest development in a months-long legal battle over the IRS and ICE data-sharing agreement. The controversial arrangement was part of the Trump administration's government-wide effort to identify, arrest, detain, and deport tens of thousands of people from the country.
The agreement led to significant political consequences, including the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS. Earlier this month, a judge overseeing a separate case blocked ICE from using the taxpayer data altogether, while a federal appeals court declined to rule in favor of another immigrants' rights group seeking to block the agreement.
Attorney General Pam Bondi called the appeals court decision a "crucial victory" for the administration, stating that "deporting illegal aliens makes the American people safer." However, the judge's finding of 42,695 specific violations of federal law represents a substantial legal setback for the data-sharing program and raises serious questions about privacy protections within government agencies.
