DC Appeals Court Allows IRS to Share Data with ICE

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled on February 24, 2026, that the Internal Revenue Service may continue sharing taxpayer address information with the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement. The court rejected a request for a preliminary injunction filed by immigrant advocacy groups, including Somos Un Pueblo Unido and Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, who argued the practice violated taxpayer privacy protections.

Senior Judge Harry T. Edwards authored the opinion, stating that the challengers' claim that a court order is required for such disclosures is unsupported by the text of Internal Revenue Code Section 6103. The ruling affirms a lower court decision and allows a memorandum of understanding, signed by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, to remain in effect. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has used this agreement to seek address information for approximately 1.28 million taxpayers involved in criminal immigration investigations to facilitate deportations.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi described the decision as a crucial victory for the Trump administration's immigration agenda. However, recent court filings indicated that the IRS erroneously shared data for thousands of people and provided additional address information for less than 5% of 47,000 verified individuals, raising questions about potential privacy rule violations.