U.S. District Court Prohibits ICE Use of IRS Data in Immigration Enforcement, Cites Privacy Violations

The U.S. District Court issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting ICE from using confidential taxpayer information shared by the IRS, finding that the interagency data-sharing likely violated Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code and the Administrative Procedure Act. The court held that the taxpayers, four community organizations that assist immigrants with tax filings, established standing to bring the lawsuit. The IRS-ICE data-sharing agreements and implementation constituted final agency action reviewable under the APA. Taxpayers demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits that the data-sharing violated Section 6103’s restrictions on disclosure and use of confidential taxpayer information for non-tax criminal ...