IRS Wrongly Shared Taxpayer Data with Homeland Security

Thousands of individuals' private information was improperly disclosed, court filing reveals

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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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 Americans. Advocates fear the improper sharing of this private information could endanger lives and violate legal protections around taxpayer data.

The details

The revelation stems from a data-sharing agreement signed last April by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, which allows U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records. The IRS 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 data-sharing agreement was signed in April 2026.
  • The IRS notified DHS of the error in January 2026.

The players

Scott Bessent

Treasury Secretary who signed the data-sharing agreement with the Department of Homeland Security.

Kristi Noem

Homeland Security Secretary who signed the data-sharing agreement with the Treasury Department.

Dottie Romo

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

Lisa Gilbert

Co-president of Public Citizen, an advocacy group that filed a lawsuit against the government over the data-sharing agreement.

Tom Bowman

Policy counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, who commented on the improper sharing of taxpayer data.

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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

The judge in the case will decide on whether to block the IRS from continuing to share taxpayer data with the Department of Homeland Security.

The takeaway

This incident highlights the serious privacy risks and potential for abuse when government agencies share sensitive taxpayer data, even if done in the name of immigration enforcement. It underscores the importance of maintaining strict legal protections around confidential taxpayer information.