IRS Wrongly Shared Taxpayer Data with Homeland Security

Thousands of individuals' private information was improperly disclosed as part of an agreement between the agencies.

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The IRS erroneously shared the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security, as part of the agencies' controversial agreement to share information on immigrants for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S., according to a new court filing.

Why it matters

This breach of confidential taxpayer data raises serious privacy concerns and could potentially be used to target individuals, violating their rights. Advocates fear the improper sharing of this private information could endanger lives and undermine trust in government agencies.

The details

According to an IRS declaration, the agency was only able to verify roughly 47,000 of the 1.28 million names ICE requested, and for less than 5% of those individuals, the IRS gave ICE additional address information, potentially violating privacy rules. The IRS-DHS agreement set off litigation between advocacy groups and the federal government last year, with a Massachusetts federal court ordering the IRS to stop sharing residential addresses with ICE.

  • In April 2025, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed an agreement allowing ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.
  • In January 2026, Treasury notified DHS of the error and requested DHS' assistance in 'promptly taking steps to remediate the matter consistent with federal law.'

The players

Scott Bessent

The Treasury Secretary who signed the agreement with the Department of Homeland Security.

Kristi Noem

The Homeland Security Secretary who signed the agreement with the Treasury Department.

Dottie Romo

The IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer who filed a declaration about the erroneous data sharing.

Public Citizen

A non-profit advocacy group that filed a lawsuit against the Treasury and Homeland Security Secretaries and their respective agencies over the data-sharing agreement.

Lisa Gilbert

The co-president of Public Citizen, who expressed concerns about the potential unlawful release of taxpayer records.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“This breach of confidential information was part of the reason we filed our lawsuit in the first place. Sharing this private taxpayer data creates chaos and, as we've seen this past year, if federal agents use this private information to track down individuals, it can endanger lives.”

— Lisa Gilbert, Co-president of Public Citizen (Associated Press)

“The improper sharing of taxpayer data is unsafe, unlawful, and subject to serious criminal penalties. Once taxpayer data is opened to immigration enforcement, mistakes are inevitable and the consequences fall on innocent people. The disclosure of thousands of confidential records unfortunately shows precisely why strict legal firewalls exist and have — until now — been treated as an important guardrail.”

— Tom Bowman, Policy counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology (Associated Press)

What’s next

A Massachusetts federal court has ordered the IRS to stop sharing residential addresses with ICE, and a federal court has blocked the IRS from sharing information with DHS, saying the IRS illegally disseminated the tax data of some migrants last summer. The IRS and DHS are working to remediate the matter consistent with federal law, including the appropriate disposal of any data provided to ICE by IRS based on incomplete or insufficient address information.

The takeaway

This incident highlights the serious privacy and security risks associated with government agencies sharing sensitive taxpayer data, even when done under the guise of national security or immigration enforcement. It underscores the need for robust legal safeguards and oversight to protect individuals' confidential information from being misused or improperly disclosed.