By Adriana Flores Solis, April 15, 2025
The IRS has reached an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the first time ever, giving the agency access to information connected to undocumented immigrants.
Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and treasury secretary Scott Bessent signed a memorandum of understanding April 7.
It is still unknown when ICE will begin requesting information for use. Several words are redacted and blacked out in the agreement, so it’s unknown what will and what won’t be shared.
ICE will be allowed to obtain information from the IRS, including information about immigrants’ criminal records and order of removals .
IRS commissioner Melanie Krause resigned April 9 after the deal was made. There were conflicting views among IRS officials, including concern over the privacy of immigrants. Several other senior IRS officials also resigned.
Undocumented immigrants can file taxes through an individual taxpayer identification number. An ITIN is used to file federal taxes, but it doesn’t qualify undocumented immigrants for Social Security benefits or the earned income tax credit.
One Cal Poly Pomona student who does not want to reveal their name in fear of ICE is a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient. Their family immigrated to the U.S. from Guatemala, and they have been undocumented for nine years.
DACA recipients are individuals who immigrated to the U.S. at a young age and have temporary protection for deportation. The policy grants them work authorization and the opportunity to attend school.
“People are going to be scared to even file taxes,” the recipient said. “It’s money that goes to different things like Social Security and Medicaid, which we don’t even get, and we are still contributing to the economy. I think that’s the reason why the administration is doing this. They want to scare people.”
While President Donald Trump has said American taxpayers are being financially burdened by undocumented immigrants, reports state that “immigration is integral to the nation’s economic growth.”
Many congressional Democrats banded together and wrote a formal letter to Krause and Noem, urging them to not finalize this deal.
The letter mentions the consequences that could arise from the deal, such as undocumented immigrants choosing to no longer file taxes. This would bring a decrease in federal revenues that help fund essential parts of the economy, including public schools and health care.
In 2022, undocumented immigrants in California contributed $8.5 billion in state and local taxes. However, they don’t receive any of the benefits, such as Social Security and Medicare.
Department chair and political science professor Mario Guerrero said he believes the IRS and ICE have been vague about what comes next once they start implementing the deal they signed.
“Deporting immigrants threatens the economy and these industries in different ways,” Guerrero said. “We’re seeing similar issues. Not with this memo specifically, but just deportation efforts in general, where the administration is super vague. And they are capturing a lot of people in their deportations that shouldn’t be deported.”
Emiliana Ayala, a political science student, said she believes the Trump administration is making a mistake with this move.
“The IRS should not be exposing their information, especially when they have been told initially that their documentation status will be confidential,” Ayala said. “Ever since the Trump administration took office, the immigrant population has continued to get dehumanized over and over with the excuse of making them the criminal scapegoat.”
With tax filing season coming to an end April 15, the uncertainty over this deal is lingering in the minds of millions of undocumented immigrants who filed their taxes this year.
Feature image courtesy of the IRS
