Court Upholds Ban on IRS Data Sharing with ICE

A U.S. appeals court upheld an injunction blocking an IRS policy that shared taxpayer addresses with immigration authorities, citing it as a violation of federal law. The policy involved the disclosure of around 47,000 addresses to ICE under the Trump administration's enforcement expansion efforts. Legal challenges halted the practice.

In a significant legal decision, a U.S. appeals court has upheld an injunction against an Internal Revenue Service policy that allowed the sharing of taxpayer addresses with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The court deemed the practice unlawful, violating federal laws designed to protect taxpayer information.

The panel of three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the IRS had improperly disclosed about 47,000 taxpayer addresses. This was part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to intensify immigration enforcement by allowing ICE to request addresses under specific conditions.

Despite protests from the administration, the court's decision highlights the importance of stringent data protection laws, particularly those instituted post-Watergate to prevent misuse of taxpayer data by government bodies. The case drew attention from several advocacy groups who successfully argued the policy exceeded legal limits.