The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit handed President Donald Trump a significant legal victory this week, ruling that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may share certain taxpayer information with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assist in identifying and deporting illegal aliens.
In a decision reinforcing federal enforcement authority, the court concluded that existing law does not create a blanket shield preventing illegal immigrants’ tax records from being used in lawful immigration investigations.
Court Rejects “Firewall” Argument
At the center of the dispute was Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, which governs the confidentiality of tax returns.
Advocacy groups had argued that the statute prohibits the IRS from sharing information with DHS for deportation purposes and warned that such coordination would “undermine trust” in the tax system.
The appeals court disagreed, finding that the law contains exceptions permitting disclosures tied to legitimate law enforcement functions.
Immigration enforcement, the court indicated, is not carved out from those exceptions.
The ruling overturns a lower court decision that had blocked the Trump administration from coordinating information-sharing between the IRS and DHS.
🚨 BREAKING — DC APPEALS COURT SIDES WITH TRUMP: Rules the IRS CAN share information on illegals with the Department of Homeland Security for deportations
LFG!!! 🇺🇸
This opens up a TON of new doors for DHS to speed up deportations. pic.twitter.com/ANnrsufUXa
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 24, 2026
ITIN Filings and Enforcement Debate
For years, millions of illegal aliens have filed tax returns using Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), despite lacking authorization to work in the United States.
Critics of the lower court ruling argued it effectively created a safe harbor, allowing individuals in the country illegally to submit personal information to one federal agency while shielding it from another agency charged with enforcing immigration law.
Supporters of President Trump’s immigration agenda say the appeals court restored a basic principle that federal agencies should not be forced to operate in isolation when enforcing the law.
They argue that if someone is in the country unlawfully, sharing relevant information across agencies is a matter of governance, not a constitutional violation.
What Comes Next
Immigrant advocacy groups had claimed the policy would discourage tax compliance.
Supporters counter that compliance with immigration law is not optional and that filing a tax return does not entitle someone to insulation from enforcement.
The Department of Homeland Security has not yet detailed how it plans to implement the ruling, and the IRS has not publicly outlined specific procedures for information sharing moving forward.
The decision marks another courtroom victory for President Trump’s broader immigration enforcement agenda.
Trump’s policies have focused on securing the border, strengthening interior enforcement, and removing bureaucratic barriers that critics say have protected illegal immigrants from accountability.
Additional legal challenges are likely, and the issue could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
For now, however, the D.C. Circuit asserts that federal law does not require the IRS to function as a firewall against immigration enforcement.
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