Procurement records show ICE awarded an approximately $9.97 million contract to Thundercat Technology for an "ITIN data subscription and analytics" service, potentially giving agents access to information tied to Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers. Courts blocked the IRS from sharing ITIN-linked taxpayer records on November 21, 2025, but the injunction did not address purchases from private data brokers. Civil‑liberties experts warn buying equivalent commercial data could erode immigrant trust, reduce ITIN filings, and create a template for evading court limits.
Procurement Records Suggest ICE May Be Buying ITIN-Linked Tax Data After Courts Blocked IRS Sharing
Image: Flickr - Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Federal procurement records indicate that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) may have obtained access to tax records tied to Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) through a commercial contract after courts blocked the IRS from sharing those records directly.
On June 5, a roughly $9.97 million contract awarded to federal IT reseller Thundercat Technology LLC is described as an "ITIN data subscription and analytics" service. ITINs are nine-digit tax identifiers the IRS created in 1996 so people without Social Security numbers—primarily undocumented immigrants—could file returns and pay taxes. The IRS has long treated ITIN-linked tax information as confidential.
Timeline
April 7, 2025: The IRS and ICE signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) permitting limited taxpayer-data sharing.
By August 2025: Litigation revealed ICE had requested more than one million taxpayer records.
November 21, 2025: A federal judge enjoined further IRS disclosures, finding the arrangement likely unlawful under IRC §6103, the statute protecting tax-return confidentiality.
June 5 (contract date): Procurement records show the Thundercat contract for an ITIN data subscription and analytics service surfaced after the injunction.
What The Records Show—and What They Don’t
Thundercat is a known federal reseller and systems integrator. Public filings do not identify which underlying data broker holds ITIN-linked records, nor do they specify whether ICE agents would receive full identity profiles or narrower aggregated analytics tied to ITINs. Legally, IRC §6103 restricts IRS disclosures, but it does not explicitly prohibit government agencies from purchasing commercially available datasets containing the same or similar information.
Concerns And Context
Researchers at the Cato Institute report that roughly 90% of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) staff have been redirected toward immigration enforcement under current directives. The contract cites "fraud investigations" as a use case; civil‑liberties advocates warn that such labels have been used in the past as entry points for broad immigration sweeps—raising questions about scope and operational guardrails.
Legal and human-rights scholars warn this tactic could "radically weaponize the trust" immigrants placed in the IRS by turning confidential tax information into an enforcement tool, according to analysis in the University of Cincinnati’s Human Rights Law Review.
ICE has increasingly assembled a commercial surveillance stack—agents reportedly use services such as Thomson Reuters CLEAR, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, license-plate readers, and Clearview AI facial recognition—raising alarms about a piecemeal approach to collecting sensitive personal data.
Legal And Policy Implications
Treasury officials say the original MOU relied on longstanding criminal-investigation authorities under IRC §6103(i)(2), which they interpret as focused on individuals with final removal orders. Civil‑liberties groups and Senator Ron Wyden argue that purchasing commercially equivalent taxpayer data intentionally circumvents congressional intent and judicial rulings. The proposed Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act would close this procurement loophole, but it has not been enacted.
If left unchallenged, analysts warn the contract could establish a precedent: losing in court need not prevent an agency from acquiring the same data by purchase. The Tax Policy Center also cautions that fears of surveillance could depress ITIN filings, reducing federal revenue and undermining trust in the tax system for people who followed the rules.
Bottom line: The procurement appears to exploit a legal gap between restrictions on IRS disclosures and the government’s ability to buy similar data commercially. That gap raises serious questions about privacy, oversight, and the future of agency data practices.
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