Federal Judge Denies Injunction Blocking IRS-DHS Data Sharing for Immigration Enforcement

A federal judge has denied a request to block a controversial agreement between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that allows immigration authorities to access taxpayer data for locating illegal immigrants subject to deportation, Fox News reports.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich issued the ruling Monday, rejecting a motion for a preliminary injunction brought by immigrant-rights groups, including Centro de Trabajadores Unidos and Immigrant Solidarity DuPage. The plaintiffs had sought to prevent the IRS from disclosing confidential tax information to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“At its core, this case presents a narrow legal issue: Does the Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS violate the Internal Revenue Code? It does not,” Judge Friedrich wrote in the order.

The lawsuit, filed against Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause, and the IRS itself, argued that sharing tax records with DHS for immigration enforcement violated federal privacy laws. The judge, however, found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate an imminent injury and noted that the agreement only permits data sharing for criminal—not civil—investigations.

The memorandum, signed in April, outlines procedures for DHS to request address information from the IRS about individuals under criminal investigation. The IRS is barred from providing data solely for civil immigration enforcement, such as deportation proceedings, unless criminal activity is involved.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, defended the agreement, saying:

“Information sharing across all federal agencies is essential to determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense.”

She added:

“Today’s ruling is a victory for the American people and for commonsense.”

Critics, including the nonprofits behind the lawsuit, argue that the arrangement could set a dangerous precedent for misuse of taxpayer data and threaten the privacy of immigrant communities. However, a senior Treasury official told Fox News that the agency remains committed to protecting taxpayer privacy while complying with legal obligations to assist in criminal investigations.

The ruling comes as President Donald Trump continues to push for aggressive immigration enforcement measures in his ongoing campaign, including expanded efforts to locate and deport undocumented immigrants.