IRS Erroneously Shared Taxpayer Data with DHS, Court Filing Reveals

Breach raises concerns over privacy protections for taxpayer information

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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A new court filing has revealed that the IRS erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security, as part of an agreement to share data on immigrants for deportation purposes. The IRS was only able to verify about 47,000 of the 1.28 million names requested by ICE, and for less than 5% of those individuals, additional address information was provided, potentially violating privacy rules.

Why it matters

This breach raises serious concerns about the IRS's ability to protect taxpayer data and the potential misuse of that information for immigration enforcement purposes, which could undermine public trust in the tax system and lead to further privacy violations.

The details

According to the court filing, the IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer Dottie Romo stated that the agency was only able to verify roughly 47,000 of the 1.28 million names requested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). For less than 5% of those individuals, the IRS gave ICE additional address information, potentially violating privacy rules created to protect taxpayer data.

  • The court filing was submitted on Wednesday, February 12, 2026.

The players

Dottie Romo

The IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer who submitted the declaration regarding the erroneous data sharing.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The government agency that requested the taxpayer information from the IRS as part of an agreement to share data on immigrants for deportation purposes.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The government agency that received the erroneously shared taxpayer information from the IRS.

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What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on whether to allow the IRS to continue sharing taxpayer data with DHS and ICE.

The takeaway

This breach highlights the need for stronger privacy protections for taxpayer data and greater oversight of data-sharing agreements between government agencies, to prevent the misuse of sensitive information and maintain public trust in the tax system.