In brief
The IRS has mistakenly disclosed taxpayer information for thousands of individuals to the Department of Homeland Security, due to a data-sharing agreement with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Despite only verifying around 47,000 names from a larger request, the IRS potentially violated privacy protocols by providing additional address information for a select few. Advocacy groups have expressed alarm over this breach, fearing it could lead to unlawful targeting of immigrants and violations of privacy. Legal actions against the government highlight rising concerns regarding the misuse of sensitive information.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A major breach of taxpayer privacy has been reported as the IRS mistakenly shared sensitive taxpayer information of thousands with the Department of Homeland Security. This error is linked to a controversial information-sharing agreement that aims to strengthen immigration enforcement by identifying and deporting undocumented individuals in the United States.
This troubling revelation emerged from a recent court filing, revealing that the agreement, signed last April, enables U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to request taxpayer data for individuals residing illegally in the country. Under this agreement, the IRS was tasked with cross-verifying names and addresses with its tax records.
IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer Dottie Romo disclosed that only 47,000 of the 1.28 million names requested by ICE could be verified by the IRS. Alarmingly, the IRS provided additional address information for less than 5% of these individuals, which could be a significant breach of privacy protocols established to protect taxpayer data.
Romo further indicated that the Treasury Department notified DHS of this error in January and requested immediate remedial actions to comply with federal law, including proper disposal of any data improperly provided to ICE.
This issue has ignited litigation against the IRS and DHS initiated by advocacy groups representing immigrant rights. Public Citizen filed a lawsuit shortly after the agreement was established, prompting a federal court in Massachusetts to issue an order stopping the IRS from sharing residential addresses with ICE. In November, another federal court barred the IRS from disseminating any tax data to DHS, affirming concerns over the improper release of sensitive information regarding migrants.
The disclosure about the erroneous sharing of taxpayer data was initially reported by The Washington Post. Advocates warn that such breaches could be exploited to target individuals unlawfully and jeopardize their privacy. Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, emphasized that the mishandling of confidential taxpayer information was a fundamental reason for filing the lawsuit.
Experts such as Tom Bowman from the Center for Democracy & Technology echoed similar sentiments, stating that the unauthorized sharing of taxpayer data poses legal risks and civil liberties concerns, with potentially harmful consequences for innocent people caught in these initiatives.
