IRS, DHS reach deal on information sharing on migrants
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) signed a memorandum of understanding to begin information sharing between the two agencies in an effort to aid with immigration enforcement.
The agreement, first reported by Fox News, will allow the IRS to share the current addresses of migrants who have been ordered removed from the country within the last 90 days.
But a statement from DHS suggests a far broader reach.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the government is finally doing what it should have all along: sharing information across the federal government to solve problems. Biden not only allowed millions of illegal aliens to flood into our country — he lost them due to incompetence and improper processing,” the agency said.
“Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, 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.”
There’s no indication those in the U.S. who are not citizens attempt to vote. A Brennan Center study from the 2016 general election showed an estimated 30 incidents of suspected, but not confirmed, noncitizen votes out of 23.5 million, just 0.0001 percent of the votes reviewed.
The Washington Post reported last month that DHS was seeking to gain information on as many 7 million people suspected of being unlawfully present in the U.S.
This comes after DHS previously sought help from IRS in locating 700,000 people subject to final removal orders.
Tax information, including people’s names and addresses, is typically shielded from law enforcement, though in some cases, usually under court order, they are able to obtain such information to aid in building a criminal case.
The MOU would be sharp departure from that arrangement.
IRS has routinely assured migrants – who much pay taxes regardless of their status – that it is secure to file. IRS officials have worried sharing such information would hinder tax collection.
The IRS did not immediately respond to request for comment.