Groups Ask Judge to Prevent IRS From Unlawfully Sharing Tax Return Information to Aid Immigration Enforcement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As part of a lawsuit filed last week, groups today filed a motion for a temporary restraining order asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to bar the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from unlawfully disclosing individual tax return information to immigration enforcement officials until the court heard further arguments on the legality of the Trump administration’s information sharing plans.
Centro de Trabajadores Unidos and Immigrant Solidarity Dupage—represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, Alan Morrison, and Raise the Floor Alliance—argue that emergency relief is needed to prevent irreparable harm that would result from immigration officials’ use of unlawfully obtained taxpayer information to arrest or remove undocumented workers and their families. They argue that the IRS must treat every taxpayer’s information as confidential unless disclosure is authorized by law, and that no law authorizes the IRS to disclose tax information for immigration enforcement.
“In response to presidential abuse of tax record information, Congress wrote a law that treats the tax records of every taxpayer as confidential, regardless of the taxpayer’s immigration status” said Nandan Joshi, attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group. “A temporary restraining order will ensure that confidential tax information will not end up in the wrong hands while we continue to make our case in court.”
“We urgently need emergency relief to stop the federal government from invading the privacy of taxpayers in the name of prejudice and terror,” said Kevin Herrera, Legal Director of Raise the Floor Alliance. “By attempting to commandeer the IRS to carry out mass deportations, the Trump administration only undermines public trust in the tax system, and threatens the essential revenue base needed for government services all Americans rely on. We will not stand idly by while our communities are persecuted for following the law.”
Promptly after we filed, the court issued an order setting a hearing on the motion for a temporary restraining order for next Wednesday. The complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order can be found here. For additional information on the case, or to request an interview with the litigation team or our plaintiffs, contact Patrick Davis, pdavis@citizen.org.
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