Federal Judge Blocks IRS From Sharing Taxpayer Addresses With ICE, Citing Privacy and Risk of Wrongful Arrests

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani has ordered the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to stop sharing residential addresses with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), finding the information‑sharing arrangement may violate taxpayer privacy protections and pose serious public‑safety risks.

Court Order and Immediate Effect

Talwani — a Boston‑based appointee of President Barack Obama — issued a temporary injunction that halts further exchanges of taxpayer address data and bars ICE from using addresses it already received while the court continues its review. The judge cited multiple legal and practical concerns, including possible violations of taxpayer confidentiality laws, risks of mistaken identity, and a chilling effect on tax filing among immigrant communities.

Concerns Cited by the Court

The ruling highlights the danger that addresses could lead to wrongful arrests when multiple people share surnames or live in the same multifamily homes or apartment complexes. Talwani referenced a highly publicized case in St. Paul, Minnesota, where an ICE operation led to a naturalized U.S. citizen being forcibly removed from his home while barely clothed after agents wrongly targeted the address.

Related Rulings and Background

This is the second federal injunction against the IRS–ICE data‑sharing arrangement. In November, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar‑Kotelly temporarily blocked the deal in a suit brought by the Center for Taxpayer Rights, concluding the agreement ran afoul of taxpayer confidentiality statutes. Kollar‑Kotelly also restricted an administration official identified in the filings from disclosing taxpayer information to the Department of Homeland Security unless it was for a non‑tax criminal investigation.

Both lawsuits stem from an ICE initiative launched early in the administration to mine IRS records for immigration enforcement. After internal objections at the IRS, agency and Homeland Security leaders formalized an information‑sharing agreement. Last August, the IRS disclosed the residential addresses of roughly 47,000 taxpayers to ICE; the agency says it has not used those addresses to carry out deportations.

Next Steps

The government has appealed the earlier Kollar‑Kotelly ruling, but that appeal has not stayed the judge’s order. With Talwani’s injunction now in place, courts will continue to weigh the balance between enforcement objectives and statutory and constitutional protections for taxpayer privacy.

Implication: The rulings raise urgent questions about how tax records may be used, the limits of interagency data sharing, and the potential deterrent effects on legally required tax filing by vulnerable communities.