Federal Judge Gives Green Light to Trump’s IRS-DHS Immigration Crackdown

The Trump administration received a significant legal victory on Monday as a federal judge ruled in favor of a partnership between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), allowing the agencies to share information in efforts to locate and identify suspected illegal migrants.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, in a decision issued in Washington, D.C., denied a request for an injunction filed by the immigrant-rights group Centro de Trabajadores Unidos.

The group had attempted to block a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the IRS and DHS that would allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to access limited IRS records in criminal investigations involving suspected illegal immigration.

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The case centered on whether the agreement violated Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, which governs the confidentiality of taxpayer information. According to Judge Friedrich, the agreement falls within the legal bounds of that statute.

“At its core, this case presents a narrow legal issue: Does the Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS violate the Internal Revenue Code? It does not,” Friedrich wrote in her ruling.

“The Court agrees that requesting and receiving information for civil enforcement purposes would constitute a cognizable injury, but none of the organizations have established that such an injury is imminent. As the plaintiffs acknowledge, the Memorandum only allows sharing information for criminal investigations.”

Under the terms of the agreement, ICE agents are permitted to submit the names of suspected illegal migrants to the IRS, which then returns any address data it may have on file to aid in criminal enforcement actions.

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The IRS is not providing tax return content or financial details—only location-based data tied to submitted identities in criminal contexts.

The ruling clears the way for closer cooperation between ICE and the IRS at a time when the Trump administration is escalating efforts to enforce immigration law.

HUGE WIN! Federal judge, Dabney Friedrich says she won’t block the IRS from sharing data with DHS to locate illegals for deportation.

This information sharing will be key in identifying people here illegally by cross referencing names with tax data.

Can you believe people here… pic.twitter.com/hFtQ2Qnt2R

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) May 13, 2025

The same day the court ruling was released, ICE officials in Houston, Texas, arrested 422 suspected illegal migrants in a coordinated enforcement operation.

According to DHS, that operation was part of a broader strategy to disrupt illegal entry and presence across key regions of the United States.

In Florida, ICE reported over 1,000 arrests of suspected illegal migrants during operations conducted last month.

These efforts are part of a multi-agency enforcement surge initiated during Trump’s second term, targeting criminal networks, visa overstays, and individuals who have ignored court-ordered removal.

The partnership between IRS and DHS had drawn criticism from several immigrant advocacy organizations, who argued that the data-sharing agreement could violate privacy protections and chill cooperation with the IRS among immigrant communities.

However, Judge Friedrich’s ruling emphasized that the agreement was limited in scope and strictly applied to criminal investigations.

The Biden-Harris administration had previously halted or scaled back similar data-sharing initiatives between federal agencies, citing civil liberties and potential overreach.

The Trump administration reinstated and expanded interagency cooperation as part of its renewed focus on internal immigration enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security and the IRS have not yet issued formal public statements following the ruling, but ICE officials indicated that the ruling would streamline ongoing investigations.

Legal analysts say the ruling could pave the way for broader interagency cooperation in enforcement actions moving forward, particularly if similar agreements are crafted with narrow criminal investigation parameters.

As the administration continues its enforcement push, Monday’s court decision marks a key win for a policy that has been under scrutiny since it was first proposed.

The ruling also signals judicial support for the administration’s legal interpretation of agency cooperation on immigration enforcement.

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