U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani’s ruling halts a Trump-era data-sharing agreement, yet many ITIN filers remain afraid their information could be used for immigration enforcement.
ICE’s pressure to access IRS documentation to locate, according to them, possible criminals, has been the cause of much controversy. But since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, his administration has sought access to IRS data — including taxpayers’ addresses — to further its immigration crackdown and locate undocumented immigrants.
And last April, ICE and its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, secured a data-sharing agreement with the IRS, alarming many taxpayers who use ITINs to file. But earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked this arrangement — and prohibited ICE agents from viewing any taxpayer data.
“Judge Talwani’s order makes it very clear that ICE cannot rely on any of the tax-sharing agreements that it entered into with the IRS or use any information that it already received from the IRS,” said Dorothy Chang, managing attorney for workers’ rights at the Asian Law Caucus, one of the groups that took the federal government to court over the agreement.
Talwani is the second federal judge to block the IRS-ICE agreement in the past few months, but her ruling has placed some of the strongest restrictions yet on how government agencies share information with each other.
But there is no guarantee that despite this decision, the Trump Administration will not seek to access this information by legally appealing this decision.
This has left tax preparers and immigrants in a kind of limbo. “They take the risk of filing their taxes or they wait to see what happens.”
“We let them know that we’re still helping them file taxes,” said Lindsay Rojas, director of free tax help at United Way Bay Area. “And if they have any questions or doubts, they should consult an immigration attorney for their case.”
Rojas stressed that this is a decision a person “should make based on their household” and their individual circumstances.
In her ruling, Talwani — appointed by President Barack Obama to the U.S. District Court in Boston in 2014 — was highly critical of the Trump administration’s actions.
Emphasizing the federal tax system depends on taxpayer trust, Talwaini said that implementing data-sharing agreements “erodes that foundation and undermines the public interest in a functioning tax system.”
Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are increasingly afraid to file taxes in 2026 due to fears that the IRS will share personal data, such as home addresses, with ICE, following reports of data-sharing in 2025. This fear has led to a decline in tax filings, as many worry that using their Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) could lead to deportation amid heightened immigration enforcement.
CONCERNS
Data Sharing Fears: Reports that the IRS shared thousands of taxpayer records with ICE in 2025 have created significant distrust, causing many to fear that filing makes them vulnerable.
Drop in Filings: Tax professionals, particularly in communities with high immigrant populations, have reported a notable decline in filings from undocumented clients, often by up to a third, say 23ABC News Bakersfield and The Washington Post.
Confidentiality Concerns: Although IRS employee rules generally protect taxpayer data, the recent data-sharing actions have undermined the confidence that many previously held that their information would not be used for immigration enforcement.
Legal Uncertainty: While some legal advocates are the challenging sharing of such information, the fear of deportation remains a powerful deterrent for many, NBC News notes.
Impact: Undocumented immigrants paid significant amounts in taxes in previous years, but many are now opting to skip filing to avoid disclosing their location, according to the American Immigration Council and FOX6 News Milwaukee.
