type: timeline_event
In a sworn declaration filed in federal court, IRS Chief Risk and Control Officer Dottie Romo revealed that the agency erroneously shared the confidential taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security, violating privacy rules designed to protect taxpayer data. The IRS notified DHS of the error on January 23, 2026, but only after the unlawful data sharing had already occurred.
The privacy breach stems from a controversial data-sharing agreement signed in April 2025 by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, which allows ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records. According to Romo's declaration, ICE submitted 1.28 million names for verification, but the IRS was only able to verify roughly 47,000 individuals.
For less than 5% of verified individuals, the IRS provided ICE with additional address information based on incomplete or insufficient data—a clear violation of federal taxpayer privacy protections. This means thousands of people's confidential tax information was improperly shared with immigration enforcement authorities.
The revelation came in court filings related to ongoing litigation challenging the IRS-DHS data-sharing arrangement. In November 2025, a federal court had already blocked the IRS from sharing information with DHS, ruling that the agency illegally disseminated tax data of some migrants. Most recently, a Massachusetts federal court ordered the IRS to stop sharing residential addresses with ICE.
Civil liberties advocates warn the breach demonstrates the dangers of interagency data-sharing agreements that lack adequate privacy safeguards. The IRS stated it planned to take steps to "prevent the disclosure or dissemination" of the wrongly shared data and ensure "appropriate disposal" of any data provided based on incomplete information—though it remains unclear whether ICE has already used the improperly obtained information for enforcement actions.
The incident reflects broader concerns about the Trump administration's construction of a vast surveillance infrastructure using tax records, Social Security information, and other sensitive government databases for immigration enforcement, with insufficient oversight or protection for Americans' constitutional rights.