Overview
- The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reported Monday that ICE asked the IRS for records on more than 1.2 million people and the IRS returned last‑known addresses for about 47,000 of them.
- TIGTA found the IRS used an automated matching process that produced unreliable results because ICE submitted names and addresses in inconsistent formats, which let incomplete or inaccurate addresses be treated as matches.
- The watchdog concluded that ICE did not meet required safeguards for handling confidential tax data and said unresolved safeguard findings existed before the April 2025 agreement.
- A federal judge has already ruled the IRS unlawfully disclosed taxpayer information and a November court order stopped further IRS transfers to DHS, while related lawsuits and agency fallout, including the acting IRS commissioner's resignation, continue.
- TIGTA issued no formal corrective recommendations but said it will share concerns with the DHS Office of Inspector General, leaving oversight, litigation outcomes, and possible policy changes as the next steps that could affect both privacy protections and immigration enforcement practices.