CHC Chair Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade Ranking Member Rep. Linda Sánchez (CA-38), and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) lead 115 colleagues on amicus filing.
Washington, D.C. — The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) led XX House and Senate Democrats in filing a bicameral amicus brief standing up for the essential principle of taxpayer privacy in Center for Taxpayer Rights v. IRS, currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
The Democratic lawmakers argued that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) implementation of bulk data transfers to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for immigration enforcement violates the privacy protections of taxpayers enshrined by Congress in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code.
For nearly 30 years, across administrations of both parties, the IRS publicly assured taxpayers their data would be protected, reflecting Congress’s repeated decision to prioritize voluntary compliance with our tax laws over immigration enforcement efforts.
“The data sharing here was illegal and threatens federal government revenues, adversely affecting all taxpayers. It would also compromise taxpayer privacy and raise the possibility of grave consequences for individuals misidentified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”), chilling participation in the tax system, impacting our constituents, and destroying public trust,” wrote the amici curiae.
“Taxpayer privacy is the foundation of a functioning tax system. Congress wrote laws that make the tax system a lockbox against abuses, and no Administration has the legal authority to simply ignore them. We are making clear to the D.C. Circuit that Congress means what it wrote,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
“The IRS’s decision to share taxpayer data with DHS is in direct contradiction with the law and does absolutely nothing to keep Americans safe. Instead, it has struck fear in hardworking immigrant communities and led to a lack of trust in the government to protect taxpayer privacy. I urge the Court to swiftly hold this Administration accountable for its violations of the law,” said Senator Cortez Masto.
“The IRS’ agreement to turn over massive amounts of sensitive taxpayer data to ICE is dangerous, un-American, and illegal,” said Senator Padilla. “This reckless, mistake-prone system has almost certainly sent DHS agents after hardworking immigrants and citizens alike who are following the law, paying taxes, and contributing to our economy. We will keep fighting to hold the Trump Administration accountable for this gross violation of the law and harmful erosion of public trust.”
“This case is pretty cut and dry: the IRS broke the law. By handing taxpayer data over to DHS, the Trump administration not only violated clear privacy protections and put taxpayers’ personal data at risk but also betrayed decades of trust and undermined confidence in our entire tax system,” said Rep. Linda Sánchez, Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade.
“I’ve been pushing back on Trump’s effort to turn the IRS into another arm of his mass deportation machine since it was first uncovered because families should be able to file their taxes without fearing their private information will be used against them,” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez. “This case is about whether the Administration can ignore the law and undermine trust in the tax system for millions of people who file and pay their taxes every year. The Court should reject this abuse of power and uphold the privacy protections Congress put in place.”
Taxpayers without Social Security Numbers paid $59 billion in federal income taxes in 2022 alone, and the Yale Budget Lab estimates the policy could cost more than $300 billion in lost tax revenue through 2035.
This brief is part of a sustained, coordinated effort to defend the taxpayer privacy protections Congress established nearly fifty years ago. Last week’s filing marks the fourth CHC-led amicus filed in court cases pushing back against IRS-DHS data sharing efforts during the second Trump administration.
The full brief is available HERE.
About the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC)
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is over 42 members strong. The CHC serves as a forum for the Hispanic Members of Congress to coalesce around a collective legislative agenda. The Caucus is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanics in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For more information, please visit chc.house.gov.