Latest news with #AndrewJ.Weisberg
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IRS has agreement with Homeland Security to share tax info on immigrants in U.S. illegally
The Internal Revenue Service has reached an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to share the data of immigrants in the country illegally to assist with immigration enforcement, according to a new court filing. The arrangement, formalized Monday in a memorandum of understanding, allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to request taxpayer information from the IRS for individuals under criminal investigation or who have deportation orders, including names and addresses. 'DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it,' Andrew J. Weisberg, a tax division attorney with the Department of Justice, wrote Monday in opposition to a lawsuit by advocacy organizations seeking to block the sharing of tax information with immigration authorities. The memorandum of understanding, signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and dated April 7, was included in the filing as an attachment. READ MORE: Supreme Court ruling on Venezuelans in El Salvador: What justices said and what it means The data-sharing exercise is aimed at assisting ICE agents find undocumented migrants faster and helping the Trump administration achieve its goal of administering the largest deportation program in U.S. history. Critics, including immigrant advocacy groups and privacy proponents, argue that the agreement violates longstanding taxpayer confidentiality protections and could deter undocumented immigrants from fulfilling their tax obligations. Immigrant-rights groups had filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, seeking to block the potential release of taxpayer data to assist with immigration enforcement. The plaintiffs, including the Illinois-based Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, argue that sharing this data would violate strict confidentiality provisions in the IRS code, which limit how taxpayer information can be disclosed. They also warn that the move would betray the trust of millions of immigrants who file taxes using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, despite lacking legal immigration status, and who contribute billions in federal and state revenue each year. RELATED CONTENT: Miami-Dade mayor asks for tour of Krome detention center as overcrowding strains facility The U.S. government has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the immigrant groups cannot show concrete imminent harm to their organizations or members. It maintains that the memorandum between the IRS and DHS fully complies with existing law, permitting the sharing of certain tax information for criminal investigations under strict safeguards. 'Federal law clearly protects taxpayer privacy. This agreement is illegal,' declared Public Citizen, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit against the government. 'This is an assault on every single taxpayer's rights and will destroy lives.' Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, called the new agreement 'shameful' in that it breaks a promise that information immigrants provided to the IRS to pay their taxes would not be used against them. 'The U.S. Senate must hold immediate hearings with Treasury and DHS leadership to get direct answers and hold them accountable,' Rosen said in a statement. The government asserts that no information has been shared under the memorandum to date, and any future disclosures would be lawful and protected by stringent confidentiality requirements. The court is set to consider plaintiffs move for a preliminary injunction and the government's motion to dismiss the case. If dismissed, it would mark a significant setback for immigrant rights groups, who are in the midst of a legal maelstrom with the Trump administration. The outcome could also set an important precedent for how federal tax data is protected — and how far the government can go in using it to enforce immigration policy.
Miami Herald
08-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
IRS has agreement with Homeland Security to share tax info on immigrants in U.S. illegally
The Internal Revenue Service has reached an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to share the data of immigrants in the country illegally to assist with immigration enforcement, according to a new court filing. The arrangement, formalized Monday in a memorandum of understanding, allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement to request taxpayer information from the IRS for individuals under criminal investigation or who have deportation orders, including names and addresses. 'DHS can legally request return information relating to individuals under criminal investigation, and the IRS must provide it,' Andrew J. Weisberg, a tax division attorney with the Department of Justice, wrote Monday in opposition to a lawsuit by advocacy organizations seeking to block the sharing of tax information with immigration authorities. The memorandum of understanding, signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and dated April 7, was included in the filing as an attachment. READ MORE: Supreme Court ruling on Venezuelans in El Salvador: What justices said and what it means The data-sharing exercise is aimed at assisting ICE agents find undocumented migrants faster and helping the Trump administration achieve its goal of administering the largest deportation program in U.S. history. Critics, including immigrant advocacy groups and privacy proponents, argue that the agreement violates longstanding taxpayer confidentiality protections and could deter undocumented immigrants from fulfilling their tax obligations. Immigrant-rights groups had filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, seeking to block the potential release of taxpayer data to assist with immigration enforcement. The plaintiffs, including the Illinois-based Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, argue that sharing this data would violate strict confidentiality provisions in the IRS code, which limit how taxpayer information can be disclosed. They also warn that the move would betray the trust of millions of immigrants who file taxes using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, despite lacking legal immigration status, and who contribute billions in federal and state revenue each year. RELATED CONTENT: Miami-Dade mayor asks for tour of Krome detention center as overcrowding strains facility The U.S. government has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the immigrant groups cannot show concrete imminent harm to their organizations or members. It maintains that the memorandum between the IRS and DHS fully complies with existing law, permitting the sharing of certain tax information for criminal investigations under strict safeguards. 'Federal law clearly protects taxpayer privacy. This agreement is illegal,' declared Public Citizen, one of the groups involved in the lawsuit against the government. 'This is an assault on every single taxpayer's rights and will destroy lives.' Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat from Nevada, called the new agreement 'shameful' in that it breaks a promise that information immigrants provided to the IRS to pay their taxes would not be used against them. 'The U.S. Senate must hold immediate hearings with Treasury and DHS leadership to get direct answers and hold them accountable,' Rosen said in a statement. The government asserts that no information has been shared under the memorandum to date, and any future disclosures would be lawful and protected by stringent confidentiality requirements. The court is set to consider plaintiffs move for a preliminary injunction and the government's motion to dismiss the case. If dismissed, it would mark a significant setback for immigrant rights groups, who are in the midst of a legal maelstrom with the Trump administration. The outcome could also set an important precedent for how federal tax data is protected — and how far the government can go in using it to enforce immigration policy.
