IRS Admits Flaws in Sharing Immigrant Taxpayer Data with ICE

Congressional committees demand investigations as legal battle escalates over data disclosures.

Published on Feb. 25, 2026

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The IRS has admitted that it may have improperly shared the addresses of 47,289 immigrant taxpayers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) due to flaws in its data-sharing process. This revelation has sparked outrage from Congress and intensified an ongoing legal battle over the IRS-ICE data-sharing policy.

Why it matters

The IRS' disclosure of immigrant taxpayer data to ICE has raised serious concerns about taxpayer privacy and the potential for misuse of the information, which could discourage tax compliance among immigrant communities. The admission of errors in the data-sharing process has further eroded trust in the government's handling of sensitive taxpayer information.

The details

According to an IRS official's declaration, the agency's 'TIN Matching' process was designed to verify that an address field provided by ICE was not blank, but it failed to identify instances where the field contained incomplete information. As a result, the IRS may have shared the addresses of nearly 5% of the 47,289 individuals with ICE, even though the address information was 'potentially incomplete or potentially insufficient'.

  • On June 2025, ICE requested the last known addresses of 1.28 million individuals.
  • On August 7, 2025, the IRS provided addresses for 47,289 individuals in response to ICE's request.
  • On February 11, 2026, IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer Dottie Romo filed a declaration in federal court admitting the data-sharing errors.

The players

Dottie Romo

IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer who filed a declaration admitting the data-sharing errors.

House Ways and Means Committee

Congressional committee that requested an immediate investigation into the IRS' data disclosures.

Senate Finance Committee

Congressional committee that expressed alarm over the IRS' data disclosures and demanded a response from the IRS and Department of Homeland Security.

Center for Taxpayer Rights

The lead plaintiff in the ongoing lawsuit challenging the IRS-ICE data-sharing policy.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit

The court currently hearing the appeal of the preliminary injunction against the IRS-ICE data-sharing policy.

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What they’re saying

“The risk to innocent people was entirely predictable once taxpayer data was used for immigration enforcement.”

— Ron Wyden, Ranking Member, Senate Finance Committee (Senate Finance Committee letter)

“The IRS now admits the system 'led to exactly the kinds of grave mistakes our taxpayer privacy laws were designed to prevent.'”

— Ron Wyden, Ranking Member, Senate Finance Committee (Senate Finance Committee letter)

What’s next

The House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee have demanded investigations and responses from the IRS and Department of Homeland Security. The ongoing legal battle over the IRS-ICE data-sharing policy will continue in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

The takeaway

This case highlights the critical importance of safeguarding taxpayer privacy and the need for robust oversight and accountability measures when government agencies share sensitive personal data. The IRS' admission of errors underscores the potential for misuse and unintended consequences when taxpayer information is used for purposes beyond tax administration.