IRS under Trump unlawfully shared taxpayer info with immigration authorities, court rules - reuters.com

A U.S. federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld an injunction that bars the Internal Revenue Service from sharing taxpayers’ address information with immigration authorities. The decision affirms a lower‑court order that had previously halted the practice.

The injunction targets a policy implemented during the Trump administration that permitted the IRS to provide the addresses of thousands of taxpayers to immigration enforcement agencies. Under that policy, the agency could transmit the data without the taxpayers’ consent or a warrant.

The appellate court ruled that the practice violated federal law, finding that the IRS lacked statutory authority to disclose the information for immigration purposes. The court’s opinion emphasized that the sharing of personal data was not authorized by the Internal Revenue Code or other relevant statutes.

The ruling means that the IRS must cease the transfer of address records to immigration officials and must ensure compliance with the injunction. The decision also reinforces legal protections for taxpayer privacy and limits the scope of inter‑agency data sharing absent clear congressional authorization.

The case underscores ongoing scrutiny of government data‑sharing practices and may prompt further review of policies that involve the exchange of personal information between federal agencies.