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When we submit our tax returns, we do so in the knowledge that they are supposed to remain confidential. That’s because of taxpayer privacy laws enacted by Congress in response to rampant misuse of IRS records during the presidency of Richard Nixon. (Remember when Nixon was as bad as we thought a president could be?)
Donald Trump himself — rather infamously — has clearly felt entitled to keep his tax returns secret. Even though candidates for president have, for many decades, voluntarily released their tax returns in recognition that the degree of trust and power they are asking for warrants something as profound as relinquishing the expectation of confidentiality that is so ingrained among American taxpayers.
So it is ironic, to say the least, that the Trump regime is laying the groundwork to violate the privacy of potentially millions of Americans.
They are starting with undocumented workers, asking that the IRS hand over sensitive taxpayer info to immigration enforcement agents in flagrant violation of the law. But it would be foolish to think this administration will stop there.
Like most of us, undocumented workers are required to pay income taxes. The IRS is legally required to treat their tax records, like those of every other taxpayer, as private and confidential, unless disclosure is specifically allowed by law — and no law permits the IRS to disclose tax records for the purpose of locating immigrants so that they can be deported.
Last week, the American people learned of a backroom deal between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (jillionaire hedge fund bro) and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (self-professed dog killer) for confidential taxpayer info to be handed over to immigration enforcement agents, in clear violation of the law.
How did this unprecedented and illegal plot come to light?
Because the Trump regime disclosed it in court papers they filed in response to a lawsuit handled by Public Citizen intended to prevent the IRS from doing exactly what it has now admitted it is, in fact, trying to do.
We will be back in court TOMORROW for a hearing on our motion for a preliminary injunction in the case. In non-legal terminology, we are asking the judge to prevent immigration enforcement agents from accessing confidential taxpayer data while our lawsuit goes forward.
We really can’t emphasize this enough:
This lawsuit is not just about the rights of undocumented workers. The regime’s attempt to weaponize tax data should send chills down the spine of every American who pays taxes and disagrees with (or might someday disagree with) this administration.
If Trump and his lackeys get away with doing this to one group, they’ll do it to another group, and another, and another. Before you know it, millions and millions of Americans could be subject to illegal invasions of privacy and government surveillance.5
From Public Citizen, April 16, 2025
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