Media Contacts:
Asian Law Caucus, media@asianlawcaucus.org
NAKASEC, press@nakasec.org, 213-703-0992
Greater Boston Legal Services, ADivaris@gbls.org, 617-603-1629; larevalo@gbls.org 617-603-1569
Taxpayer and Immigrant Advocates Sue ICE, IRS, and Social Security Administration to Stop Information Sharing
ICE data requests abused the privacy of more than one million taxpayers and their families, circumventing longstanding protections
BOSTON — Taxpayer and immigrants’ rights advocates today filed a lawsuit asking for a block of the receipt and use of tax-related data by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from both the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Social Security Administration (SSA). A newly- disclosed agreement between SSA and ICE reveals plans to share personal and financial information on 50,000 immigrants each month. This quota is the latest in a dangerous pattern of information-sharing uncovered by advocates over the past several months. Since February, ICE has requested information on millions of taxpayers, and the agencies have collectively released the home addresses of more than 100,000 people.
The case was filed by Asian Law Caucus, Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), and Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on behalf of groups that provide taxpayer services and advocate for the rights and needs of immigrant communities: Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts (CEDC), National Korean American Service and Educational Consortium (NAKASEC), National Parents Union (NPU), and Undocublack Network (UBN).
Mass transfers of data violate strict privacy protections and signal an alarming centralization of executive powers
The lawsuit alleges that the IRS and SSA have violated strict privacy protections by handing over sensitive taxpayer data, and that ICE’s continued use of that data for civil immigration enforcement breaches clear privacy laws. Requests by ICE for the addresses of more than one million taxpayers also represent an attempt to circumvent legal requirements, which stipulate that data may be shared and used only for case-by-case criminal investigation and prosecution–not for immigration detention and deportation. The agreements also go against decades of repeated IRS commitments to taxpayer privacy, under which immigrant workers have submitted tax filings.
“The law is clear: the IRS has no business providing sensitive taxpayer information to ICE. The hasty agreements between ICE and both the IRS and SSA are an attempted end run by ICE to exploit protected data for the purposes of civil immigration enforcement,” said Josh Rosenthal, workers’ rights program director at Asian Law Caucus. “The agencies’ agreements broke a decades-long promise that immigrant workers have relied on to safely file their taxes. No agency has the power to act in defiance of the law, and we are fighting for all workers by holding these agencies accountable.”
Disregard of safeguards in information sharing agreements expose taxpayers and their families to wrongful arrest, detention, and deportation
The legal challenge builds on records obtained through a prior Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, which ALC and GBLS filed on behalf of CEDC. Those records detail the scope of taxpayer data sought by ICE, how ICE plans to use this information, and the lack of safeguards for non-citizen taxpayers. Taxpayer advocates warn of ICE wrongfully targeting individuals based on errors in identification documents and inconsistencies between government databases.
In February, SSA reportedly provided ICE the address information of tens of thousands of immigrant workers. In response to an April ICE request for 1.28 million taxpayer records, the IRS provided the addresses of nearly 47,000 taxpayers to ICE, or about 3.7% of the original request. While the agency limited its disclosure based on data limitations, the Trump administration has reportedly continued to press for more information.
“For decades, CEDC has helped immigrant families in Massachusetts file their taxes and contribute to their communities in good faith, with the understanding that their private information would remain protected,” said CEDC executive director Corinn Williams. “ICE’s misuse of taxpayer data betrays that trust and puts our neighbors at risk of wrongful detention and deportation. Families who come to us for help deserve safety and dignity, not fear that the information they provide to meet their obligations will be turned against them.”
GBLS senior attorney Luz Arévalo added that “while many are aware of the unlawful IRS-ICE agreement, it is a shocking revelation that the Social Security Administration has also agreed to send private taxpayer data to ICE for immigration enforcement. It is shocking because the SSA holds the earnings records for virtually every worker in the U.S. We had to file this case to remind both agencies that our confidentiality laws apply to them both and that their sharing is unlawful.”
This litigation comes amid the Trump administration’s warrantless arrests, workplace raids and unlawful detention of immigrant workers and U.S. citizens, including rapidly deporting people without hearings. Immigrants’ rights organizations are alarmed that the disclosures expose working families to unlawful arrests, detention, and removal without due process, and rupture long-standing trust between community members and organizations that provide tax-filing services.
“Taxpayer information is protected by strict privacy laws precisely so families can file taxes without fear. By ignoring those protections and funneling data to ICE for deportation purposes, the IRS and Social Security Administration put entire communities at risk,” Laurie Carr Mims, Managing Partner of Keker, Van Nest & Peters, said. “The rule of law requires better, and this lawsuit is about restoring those safeguards.”
Becky Belcore, co-director at NAKASEC, said, “There is no need for the IRS or SSA to share private information with ICE. The law has always protected this information, and there was always an expectation this data would be safeguarded. This is a significant breach of trust in the relationship between the government and American people, particularly when this information is used to target our communities – and without people’s consent. Furthermore, the use of a centralized executive power to reduce civil liberties signifies the alarming shifts toward authoritarianism and the dismantling of democracy. We demand an immediate end to the collusion between ICE and other government agencies and an end to the bullying by the administration for private information.”
“Families deserve to know that their most private financial and personal information is not being handed over without their consent, especially when immigrant parents are being treated differently under the law,” said National Parents Union president Keri Rodrigues. “Sharing sensitive information poses real risks to people’s safety, sense of belonging, and trust in public institutions. We call on policymakers to immediately halt this data sharing and put meaningful safeguards in place.”
“The IRS and SSA sharing information with ICE is yet another overreach of power designed to harass and hyper-surveil immigrant communities,” said Patrice Lawrence, executive director of the UndocuBlack Network. “Families who pay taxes in good faith – many of whom do so without ever receiving the benefits they contribute to – should not be penalized and hunted down. Violating the privacy of taxpaying families and undermining the independence of the IRS and SSA sets a dangerous precedent, not only for vulnerable communities but for the future and sovereignty of this nation.“