The Internal Revenue Service improperly disclosed the taxpayer information of thousands of people with the Department of Homeland Security. (Getty Images)
The IRS gave ICE additional address information for under 5% of those names, potentially violating privacy rules created to protect taxpayer data.
The tax-collecting agency said it recently discovered the mistake and is working with other federal agencies to resolve the matter.
Romo said the Treasury notified DHS last month of the error and asked for its assistance in "promptly taking steps to remediate the matter consistent with federal law," which includes "appropriate disposal of any data provided to ICE by IRS based on incomplete or insufficient address information."
MINNESOTA SUES TRUMP ADMIN OVER SWEEPING IMMIGRATION RAIDS IN TWIN CITIES
A lawsuit was filed against Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on behalf of several immigrant rights groups shortly after the agreement was signed. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Advocate groups expressed concern that the potential unlawful release of taxpayer records could be used to maliciously target U.S. citizens and violate their privacy.
"Once taxpayer data is opened to immigration enforcement, mistakes are inevitable and the consequences fall on innocent people," Tom Bowman, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy & Technology, told The Associated Press. "The disclosure of thousands of confidential records unfortunately shows precisely why strict legal firewalls exist and have — until now — been treated as an important guardrail."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/irs-erroneously-shared-confidential-immigrant-taxpayer-data-dhs-court-filing