Federal Judge Blocks IRS From Sharing Taxpayer Information with ICE

Articles | February 6, 2026 | by Catholics for Catholics

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U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an Obama appointee, said that the sharing of information could lead to wrongful arrests.

By Catholics for Catholics

The Trump administration received another stumbling block Thursday in its attempt to use taxpayer information to track down illegal immigrants, as a second federal judge commanded the IRS to stop sharing residential addresses with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Saying the information sharing possibly violated taxpayer privacy rights, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani blocked the agencies from sharing the data until the court can review the case more and prohibited ICE from using information already delivered by the IRS.

According to Newsmax, Talwani is a Boston-based appointee of then-President Barack Obama; she said the information-sharing arrangement may violate federal taxpayer privacy laws — and warned it could form a chilling effect that dissuades immigrants from filing tax returns at all.

Talwani’s ruling focuses on a deal that happened in 2025 between the Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agencies of the IRS and ICE. In that deal, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is also serving as the IRS acting commissioner, agreed to a plan to provide ICE with address information on tens of thousands of taxpayers.

Politico reported that on Aug. 7, 2025, the IRS disclosed address information for roughly 47,000 taxpayers to ICE. But ICE has claimed it has not used the information for deportations procedures.

JUST IN: A federal judge has barred ICE and DHS from using taxpayer information provided by the IRS.

Judge Talwani says that DHS' view that noncitizens lack 4th amendment rights — combined with ICE use of administrative warrants — is a recipe for abuse. https://t.co/lIvu2Ivukl pic.twitter.com/O3TJFE5TM1

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) February 5, 2026

But Talwani said the risks go beyond immigration enforcement.

In her ruling, she raised concerns about mistaken identity, including the case of a naturalized U.S. citizen in St. Paul, Minnesota, who was reportedly taken from his home after ICE agents allegedly mistook him for a sex offender linked to the address.

Contending the reality of immigrant communities, Talwani noted that many people share common surnames and reside in multifamily homes or apartment complexes — growing the risk of erroneous arrests.

Talwani’s order is similar to a ruling issued in November by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Washington-based appointee of then-President Bill Clinton.