According to one expert, a potentially historic deal between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) could put illegal immigrants in a difficult position.
“We can put them between the rocks and the difficult places because it discourages taxpayers from filing them.”Adam Brewer, a federal tax expert working in the AB Tax Act, told Fox News Digital.
Comments can cross-check immigrant tax records and provide current address information to the IRS as the IRS and ICE approach a transaction that allows ICE to submit the names and addresses of illegal immigrants to the IRS.
Ice approaches historic deal with the IRS to support deportation: Report
President Donald Trump continues his push to quickly deport illegal immigrants. (Getty Images)
However, some longtime IRS employees have expressed concern about the transaction, claiming that tax agencies have long guaranteed records protection in exchange for illegal immigrants filing tax returns.
The draft agreement between the IRS and ICE allows for verification of “criminal investigation subjects” that violates immigration laws and expands the definition of narrow IRS privacy exemptions that allow the use of taxpayer data in the case of criminal investigations.
The deal comes as President Donald Trump continues to increase his efforts to accelerate deportation following one of the key promises he set in the campaign trajectory.
Extending the definition of criminal investigation to those who have entered the country illegally would be an “unprecedented” step in the IRS, according to Brewer.
President Donald Trump pledged to expel illegal immigrants quickly during his 2024 campaign. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)
Court orders will suspend unconstitutional administrative officers for deportation flights, Trump allies argue
“That's not uncommon for the IRS to be involved in criminal investigations,” Brewer said. “They have historically shared a lot of information to crack down on the DEA and drug revenue. Looking at these kinds of things, if illegal immigration is a crime itself, then they look at the scope, and yes, that's a pretty prerequisite.”
“This feels like a departure from something we've known for years. If we share information with the IRS, we'll stop there,” he added.
Brewer believes the agreement could undermine the IRS' reliability. We believe this has built trust by strict adherence to privacy regulations.
“That would apply to government agencies if they were saying, 'Hey, the DMV will start handing over your address to the ice.' “You'll have fewer people register their vehicles or renew their driver's license,” Brewer said.
Brewer said many illegal immigrants rely on filing tax returns as a way to gain legal status, but the possibility of deportation when records are shared can discourage them from going through the process.
The IRS traditionally denounced most tax records. (Samuel Column/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
“The IRS knows that these tax returns are needed and that ICE is undergoing massive interference in front of taxpayers,” Brewer said.
However, Brewer also acknowledged that the information provided by the IRS proved to be a key missing link for immigration authorities, and that the IRS has long supported other law enforcement agencies on other criminal matters.
“If someone just filed a tax return last month in 2024, their address information is likely to be more recent or accurate than the immigration documents they filed last year,” Brewer said. “If there's information in one department, you wouldn't want Ice to spend a lot of time and resources trying to track someone down. For efficiency, government agencies want to share information.”
