Order is First-of-its-Kind and Marks a Victory for Taxpayers’ Privacy

Washington D.C. – In a series of orders, a federal court has intervened to restrict unprecedented data sharing between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), offering temporary relief that will halt the IRS from continuing to share massive amounts of taxpayer data with ICE without providing the court and plaintiffs with 24-hour notice. Last month, in just one day, the IRS disseminated as much taxpayer data to ICE as it had previously shared with all federal law enforcement agencies in a year. After that sharing was made public, a coalition of small businesses, a low-income tax clinic, and two unions represented by Democracy Forward filed an emergency motion to challenge this dangerous data sharing. 

In orders issued today and Friday, the court found that while the motion is pending, no confidential taxpayer data may be shared by the IRS with ICE without giving the court and plaintiffs 24 hours advance notice so that either may take further action. These court orders will prevent more egregious sharing of confidential taxpayer information while the court considers the request for preliminary relief. This data sharing is just one consequence of the IRS’s adoption of a new, unlawful data policy that imperils hundreds of millions of Americans’ sensitive personal data. The court has also ordered the IRS to produce a record of its actions for the court to consider whether the IRS acted in an arbitrary and unlawful manner.

The organizations working to defend privacy in Center for Taxpayer Rights et al. v Internal Revenue Service et al include the Center for Taxpayer Rights, Main Street Alliance, Communications Workers of America, and the National Federation of Federal Employees. 

“This unlawful data sharing is one of the worst attacks on Americans’ personal privacy in decades and ignores laws Congress passed in the wake of the Watergate scandal to protect taxpayer information,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “The Trump-Vance administration’s actions to share taxpayers’ most confidential data with ICE are a betrayal of the promises our government has made to Americans, and they threaten the people’s trust in the tax system. We are grateful the court has issued this interim order to stop the threats to core privacy rights while the court considers a more formal order. Democracy Forward is honored to represent this broad coalition to hold the administration accountable and protect the privacy of the American people.” 

The legal team at Democracy Forward on this case includes Daniel A. McGrath, Maddy Gitomer, Johanna M. Hickman, Robin F. Thurston, Steven Y. Bressler, and Skye L. Perryman.

The Court’s orders can be read in full on the docket here, and the memorandum in support of a preliminary injunction in the case is here. 

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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.