New Mexico group calls ICE agents' access to immigrant tax data a 'breach of trust'
Click play to listen to this article.
A New Mexico immigrant advocacy group says all Americans should be alarmed that the IRS has agreed to share immigrants' taxpayer information with ICE agents because their personal data could be next.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service have reached a deal to provide sensitive taxpayer data to federal immigration authorities as part of the deportation push by President Donald Trump.
Marcela Diaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, called the action unconscionable and immoral.
© Sundry Photography - iStock-1189510256
"This is an extreme breach of trust between a federal government agency that has promised immigrant communities, for over 30 years, that it would not share information for the purpose of immigration enforcement," she said.
Diaz noted that other Americans could be next if the Trump administration decides to overturn longstanding laws that protect their personal information. It's estimated that New Mexico's immigrant population contributes nearly $1.5 billion in federal, state and local taxes.
There are close to 15,000 New Mexicans who use an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to file their state taxes every year. Diaz said many will face a "Catch-22" -- a choice between breaking tax laws by not filing or possibly suffering even worse consequences.
"By doing it, you are exposing your family and your community to the devastation of detention, deportation and separation of families," she continued.
Diaz believes fear instilled by the new directive will have profound consequences nationwide.
"We are seeing a deterioration of that trust between the citizens of this country and the residents of this country and the essential hard-working families of this country, including immigrants, and these federal government agencies," she explained.
Somos Un Pueblo Unido is a plaintiff in a national lawsuit filed by Public Citizen against the Trump administration and the IRS.
As of Wednesday, the IRS acting commissioner was planning to resign rather than participate in sharing immigrants' tax data with Homeland Security.
