ICE Accessed IRS Taxpayer Data During Trump Administration's Deportation Blitz But Claims No Immigrants Were Targeted, Court Filings Reveal

Federal immigration officials accessed taxpayer information from the IRS during President Donald Trump’s administration's deportation efforts, but say the data was never used to target immigrants for removal. ICE Cross-References IRS Data To Track Undocumented Immigrants In filings submitted Monday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, Immigration and Customs Enforcement detailed how it cross-referenced taxpayer records with a list of 1.2 million undocumented immigrants who had final removal orders, identifying approximately 33,000 updated addresses. "The IRS data is currently residing on the HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] lead architect's government-issued computer," said Richard S. Fitzgerald, assistant director of the unit. He added, "At this juncture, only the lead architect has access to the IRS data." Data Access Did Not Lead To Deportations, Agency Says ICE emphasized that, although the information was reviewed by its technology office, it was not entered into enforcement databases or used to deport individuals, even though it was available to teams responsible for removal operations. Brian Peltier, head of technology strategy at the Social Security Administration, added that his agency only shares address data that doesn't come from tax data sources or from information directly from “claimants, claimant representatives, United States Postal Service reports." The filings are part of a lawsuit by the Community Economic Development Center of Southeastern Massachusetts, which aims to stop the federal government from sharing taxpayer data with immigration authorities, citing tax code protections. See Also: Bernie Sanders Calls For Halt On AI Data Center Construction, Alleges ‘Very Very Rich Men' Like Musk, Bezos, Zuckerberg Want More Power And Wealth Ocasio-Cortez Slams Trump's Immigration Crackdown Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized President Trump's immigration policies, accusing ICE of targeting low-risk immigrants and elites of misusing $170 billion from public programs to fund secret police operations. A study found Trump's immigration measures could shrink the U.S. workforce by 6.8 million by 2028 and 15.7 million by 2035, potentially reducing GDP by trillions and affecting critical sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing. Earlier this year, the administration also imposed $6.1 billion in fines on immigrants who ignored deportation orders, offering a $1,000 "exit bonus" to encourage self-deportation. Trump directed ICE to launch "the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History," targeting major cities. Nationwide protests followed, prompting the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines. Read Next: Trump's AI Czar David Sacks Supports President's ‘One Rulebook' For The Technology, Warns 50-State Regulatory Patchwork Could Cripple US Image via Shutterstock/ Tada Images Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.