A federal judge has ruled that the Internal Revenue Service cannot share tax information with immigration officials that would be used to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly demanded that the IRS not disclose the confidential address information of thousands of illegal immigrants, who are also taxpayers, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement until the courts can review the case, Politico reported.
Under an agreement, ICE officials can ask the IRS for information about people who have been ordered to leave the U.S. or who are being investigated.
Federal law allows the use of taxpayer information in criminal investigations.
IRS officials previously argued the Trump administration's plan to use the agency to assist with deportations was illegal, leading to the demotion of an IRS lawyer.
Immigration advocacy groups had filed suit over the move, saying it could lead to immigrants to stop filing tax returns or seek under-the-table jobs.
Critics argued the move could result in nearly $100 billion in lost annual revenue.
According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, illegal immigrants paid $96.7 billion in state, federal, and local taxes in 2022.
With roughly $59.4 billion of that figure going to the federal government and $37.3 billion going to state and local governments, the institute assumes that if only 10% of illegal immigrants forgo their tax filings this year, the government will lose $9.5 billion in revenue.
Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said the Trump administration is doing what other administrations should have done decades ago.
"Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at the American taxpayer expense," McLaughlin said in a statement when the agreement was announced.
Kollar-Kotelly also ruled that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who also serves as acting IRS commissioner, cannot disclose taxpayer information to DHS unless the person receiving the information is working on a relevant nontax criminal investigation, according to Politico.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.