The courts are frustrating Republicans left and right. It’s starting to get ridiculous.
Because now a federal judge issued a ruling with massive consequences for Donald Trump’s agenda.
Court Puts Brakes on Helpful Data Sharing Between IRS and ICE
A judge stepped in on Friday, ruling that the IRS might have crossed some legal lines by agreeing to pass along private taxpayer info to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
This pause could make it tougher for ICE to do its job of tracking down folks who are breaking immigration laws, highlighting the hurdles in government teamwork for public safety.
The judge, Colleen Kollar-Kotelly—a Clinton appointee in the D.C. court—described the setup as “unlawful conduct” that didn’t follow proper procedures or tax rules.
“Plaintiffs have shown that the IRS’s implementation of the Address-Sharing Policy was arbitrary and capricious because the IRS failed to recognize that it was departing from its prior policy of strict confidentiality, failed to consider the reliance interests that were engendered by its prior policy of strict confidentiality, and failed to provide a reasoned explanation for the new policy,” she wrote.
ICE’s Practical Need for Tracking Tools
ICE was looking for this IRS data to better pinpoint and go after people illegally staying in the U.S., which is key to enforcing our borders and keeping communities secure.
From the case files, ICE started by asking for details on more than 7 million taxpayers, then dialed it back to 1.2 million “immigrant taxpayers,” and ended up getting at least 47,000 records, per the judge.
At first, the IRS said no, but they came around once ICE focused on those being criminally investigated for hanging around 90 days past a deportation order—that’s a scenario where tax data sharing is allowed for criminal probes.
The judge raised an eyebrow at ICE’s claim, pointing out how the agency said one single person was “personally and directly engaged” in all those 1.2 million investigations. She also knocked the IRS for not giving a solid reason for the deal, calling it out as a slip-up under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Pushback from Advocacy Group and Real-World Effects
The whole thing got kicked off by a lawsuit from the Center for Taxpayer Rights, who worried that their clients’ info was getting handed over to ICE, which might scare people away from getting free tax help they need.
The judge agreed that was a real possibility, noting fewer folks were showing up for pro bono services, which gave the group the green light to sue.
It’s a reminder of how these kinds of rulings can complicate ICE’s efforts to protect the country, even when they’re just trying to use available tools to tackle serious violations.
