IRS begins sharing sensitive taxpayer data with immigration

[cng]

IRS begins sharing sensitive taxpayer data with immigration authorities to find undocumented migrants

The Internal Revenue Service began sharing sensitive taxpayer data this week with immigration authorities searching for undocumented migrants, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

As part of President Donald Trump’s massive deportation push, the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security signed an agreement in April to turn over information about undocumented immigrants who DHS says are already facing deportation orders and are under federal criminal investigation.

While the IRS has disclosed sensitive tax data previously for specific reasons allowable under privacy law, the agency has never shared such large volumes of data with any agency for the sole purpose of large-scale immigration enforcement.

The records include personal information like names, addresses and tax data of immigrants, which will enable DHS to confirm the home addresses and location for individuals it says are facing final orders of removal or who are the subjects of federal criminal investigations.

The data sharing started this week after a “push” from the Trump administration to get it underway, one of the sources said.

It comes after months of tension within IRS over the plans and internal concerns from career officials about the legality of the collaboration. The chaos led to the resignation or impending departure of several senior IRS officials earlier this year, CNN previously reported.

The start of the data sharing also comes as Trump is ousting Billy Long from his role as IRS commissioner, CNN reported earlier Friday.

One of the sources told CNN that Immigration and Customs Enforcement asked for personal information for 1.23 million people it suspects are in the country illegally but only a small fraction, less than 5%, was shared because the data ICE sent IRS did not have exact matching data to confirm the individuals they were looking for.

“Less than 5% isn’t what they were hoping for,” the source said.

The White House was not happy with the number of records shared and called about the lack of data first thing Friday morning, the second source added.

In response to CNN’s reporting, a White House spokeswoman said, “The Trump Administration is working together to implement President Trump’s executive order to stop waste, fraud, and abuse by eliminating information silos and to prevent illegal aliens from taking advantage of benefits meant for hardworking American taxpayers. Any absurd assertion other than everyone being aligned on the mission is simply false and total fake news.”

CNN has reached out to DHS and Treasury for comment.

CNN previously reported in April, DHS officials told the IRS they need access to its data to help them locate up to 7 million suspected undocumented immigrants – an eye-popping figure that “shocked” IRS employees.

The IRS has addresses for undocumented immigrants because many register with the agency and pay billions of dollars in taxes each year – in exchange for their data staying confidential in most circumstances.

Tax information has generally been closely held within the IRS, but strict privacy laws outline some exceptions – for example, the data may be shared with law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution of non-tax criminal laws. However, it’s unclear if DHS has provided the IRS with evidence that all 7 million individuals they are hoping to locate using IRS data are under investigation or face prosecution for non-tax criminal laws.

Undocumented immigrants are often urged to register with the IRS and pay their federal taxes because it makes them look like law-abiding residents and could aid their immigration case.

Lawyers who represent immigrant groups have argued that the IRS/DHS data sharing deal means the IRS has gone back on its duty to protect taxpayer information from improper disclosure and will open the door for federal law enforcement to gain access to confidential taxpayer information without obtaining a court order as required by law.

[Zephyrca]

非移很多拿现金收入吧，IRS能查到吗？

[Mountainlion]

在工厂打工的可能偷用了他人的ss，扣了一些税，多报几个dependent，就扣非常少，说不定能要child credit。

非移很多拿现金收入吧，IRS能查到吗？

[赖美豪中]

你说到点子上了，非遗很多用假ssn, 然后报税倒转eitc, 一般一年一分钱税不叫到拿3-4万

在工厂打工的可能偷用了他人的ss，扣了一些税，多报几个dependent，就扣非常少，说不定能要child credit。

[Zephyrca]

你说到点子上了，非遗很多用假ssn, 然后报税倒转eitc, 一般一年一分钱税不叫到拿3-4万

非移真厉害，哪里找的假ssn？

[oxo]

你说到点子上了，非遗很多用假ssn, 然后报税倒转eitc, 一般一年一分钱税不叫到拿3-4万

SSN不是一号对一人吗？这怎么作假？

[赖美豪中]

你不懂了把，假ssn主要来源有几种，盗取，有些homeless的或者离开美帝，2.死人，3.小孩的。有人估计加州大约有400-600万人在使用假ssn

SSN不是一号对一人吗？这怎么作假？

[oxo]

你不懂了把，假ssn主要来源有几种，盗取，有些homeless的或者离开美帝，2.死人，3.小孩的。有人估计加州大约有400-600万人在使用假ssn

homeless和走人的还好说。
盗用别人的，两个人都报税不就露馅了？
死人不用登记什么的？
小孩都不到法定工作年纪怎么报税？而且监护人会带上他们，这样不是又冲突了？

[赖美豪中]

很多低收入的人根本不用报税好么。盗用的人当然知道这些人的情况才去盗用。而且盗用的人比你file的早多了。国税局一般处理完了以后马上就把eitc退了，等正主去报就会被reject。现在国税局对paper filing查的特别严就是这个原因

homeless和走人的还好说。
盗用别人的，两个人都报税不就露馅了？
死人不用登记什么的？
小孩都不到法定工作年纪怎么报税？而且监护人会带上他们，这样不是又冲突了？