DHS Officials Ask IRS to Use Tax Data to Locate 7 Million Illegal Aliens

Federal immigration officials are seeking to locate up to 7 million people suspected of being in the United States unlawfully by accessing confidential tax data at the Internal Revenue Service, according to six people familiar with the request, a dramatic escalation in how the Trump administration aims to use the tax system to detain and deport immigrants.

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security had previously sought the IRS’s help to locate 700,000 people who are subject to final removal orders and had asked the IRS to use closely guarded taxpayer data systems to provide their names and addresses.

The two agencies have still not reached an agreement on how much data, or how, IRS will share.

But immigration enforcement officials on Thursday increased the volume of their request, according to the people familiar with it, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of professional reprisal. DHS officials initially said they would send preliminary queries about 2 million taxpayers, and eventually seek help locating 7 million individuals, the people said.

Federal officials estimate there are roughly 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

IRS officials were aghast, according to people familiar with the discussion, and lawyers from both agencies have spent recent days negotiating the details. Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause has told subordinates she expects the agency to ultimately comply with the Trump administration’s aim of using IRS systems to help in immigration enforcement, The Post has reported.

“While we have nothing to share regarding any potential discussions, the United States Treasury is fully committed to supporting our partner agencies in executing the President’s America First agenda,” a Treasury spokesperson said in a statement, issued on the condition of anonymity because of a department policy.

Normally, personal tax information — even an individual’s name and address — is considered confidential and closely guarded within the IRS. Unlawfully disclosing tax data carries civil and criminal penalties.

But that information can be shared with law enforcement under limited circumstances, usually with permission from a court, to build a criminal investigation.

It would be highly unusual, and perhaps illegal, the people said, to use tax data to enact criminal penalties. IRS executives told Homeland Security officials that their request likely violates the narrow criminal investigation exemptions. Simply being in the country illegally is a civil, not criminal, offense.

If approved, the agreement would represent a significant shift in how federal agencies manage both taxpayer information and immigration enforcement.

The IRS has for years reassured illegal workers that their tax information is confidential and that it is safe for them to file income tax returns without fear of being deported.

Illegal immigrants pay tens of billions of dollars in federal taxes each year. Illegal workers’ wages are subject to the same tax withholding and reporting requirements that apply to other U.S. residents. Many immigrants file tax returns and save them in hopes that a record of paying taxes will one day help them make a case to apply for legal residency. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, for instance, granted permanent legal status to illegal migrants who had paid back taxes, among other requirements.

On its website, the IRS says illegal immigrants “are subject to U.S. taxes in spite of their illegal status.” Because most are ineligible for Social Security numbers, the IRS allows them instead to file with individual taxpayer numbers, known as ITINs.

The IRS has already rejected previous DHS requests to share taxpayer information for immigration enforcement purposes during the Trump administration.

In February, DHS asked the tax agency for the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of 700,000 people officials suspected of being in the country illegally. It also asked the IRS to open investigations into businesses suspected of hiring illegal workers. The IRS’s acting commissioner at the time, Doug O’Donnell, quickly rejected the request, saying it was flatly unlawful.

But O’Donnell retired after a decades-long IRS career the next day. He was replaced by Krause and the agencies have volleyed draft agreements back and forth since then.