Federal Judge Rules IRS Broke Law by Disclosing Taxpayer Data to ICE 42,695 Times

Ruling finds IRS violated strict confidentiality laws by sharing addresses with immigration enforcement agency

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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A federal judge has ruled that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information approximately 42,695 times to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found that the IRS had 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, violating IRS Code 6103 which protects taxpayer privacy.

Why it matters

This ruling is significant as it confirms long-standing concerns that the IRS-DHS data-sharing agreement violated taxpayer privacy rights. The decision supports ongoing legal challenges to the agreement and raises questions about the IRS's data protection practices and the government's use of taxpayer information for immigration enforcement.

The details

According to the ruling, the IRS provided DHS with information on 47,000 of the 1.28 million people that ICE requested, and in most cases also gave ICE additional address information in violation of privacy rules. Judge Kollar-Kotelly said the IRS 'not only failed to ensure that ICE's request for confidential taxpayer address information met the statutory requirements, but this failure led the IRS to disclose confidential taxpayer addresses to ICE in situations where ICE's request for that information was patently deficient.'

  • The ruling was issued on Thursday, February 27, 2026.

The players

Colleen Kollar-Kotelly

A U.S. District Judge who ruled that the IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information to ICE.

Dottie Romo

The IRS' chief risk and control officer, whose declaration filed earlier this month revealed the extent of the IRS's improper data sharing with ICE.

Nina Olson

The founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, which has sued the government over the IRS-DHS data-sharing agreement.

Scott Bessent

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

Kristi Noem

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

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What they’re saying

“This confirms what we've been saying all along: that the IRS has an unlawful policy that violates the Internal Revenue Code's protections by releasing these addresses in a way that violates the law's requirements.”

— Nina Olson, Founder, Center for Taxpayer Rights

“The IRS not only failed to ensure that ICE's request for confidential taxpayer address information met the statutory requirements, but this failure led the IRS to disclose confidential taxpayer addresses to ICE in situations where ICE's request for that information was patently deficient.”

— Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, U.S. District Judge

What’s next

The government is appealing the case, but the Thursday ruling is significant because Romo's declaration supports the decision on appeal.

The takeaway

This ruling highlights the need for stronger oversight and accountability around the IRS's data-sharing practices, especially when it comes to protecting taxpayer privacy and preventing the misuse of confidential information for immigration enforcement purposes.