In April, the Internal Revenue Service reached an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to share limited information upon request about illegal alien taxpayers that could be used to facilitate criminal investigations and deportations, which predictably sparked a lawsuit to block that allegedly unlawful arrangement.

On Monday, however, a federal judge denied a preliminary injunction requested by several immigrant rights advocacy groups to block the sharing of illegal alien taxpayer information between the IRS and DHS, Fox News reported.

The judge determined that the plaintiffs were unable to prove that the limited information-sharing agreement did not fall under a specific statutory exception to the general prohibition against the IRS sharing confidential taxpayer data with other federal agencies.

Lawsuit filed over IRS-DHS info-sharing agreement

CNN reported that Washington D.C. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, appointed during President Trump's first term, ruled on Monday that the IRS and DHS could proceed with a limited information-sharing agreement on illegal alien taxpayers facing criminal investigations that was reached last month amid some controversy.

Several nonprofit groups that advocate on behalf of immigrants filed a lawsuit and demanded an injunction against what they argued was an unlawful arrangement to share otherwise confidential taxpayer data that is statutorily protected from disclosure by 26 U.S.C. § 6103, albeit with an exception for taxpayers targeted by criminal investigations.

The Trump administration, however, countered that the agreement was encompassed within that criminal investigation exception and noted that it involved little more than the IRS confirming the names and addresses of certain illegal alien taxpayers upon request from DHS.

Requested injunction denied

In a 16-page order, Judge Friedrich disagreed with the plaintiffs and denied their motion for a preliminary injunction after she determined that the limited data-sharing agreement between the IRS and DHS was permitted by the statute's criminal investigation exemption.

"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," the judge wrote. "The Memorandum only allows sharing information for criminal investigations … On this limited record, the Court cannot assume that DHS intends to use the shared information to facilitate civil rather than criminal proceedings."

"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. The plain language of 26 U.S.C. § 6103(i)(2) mandates disclosure under the specific circumstances and preconditions outlined in the Memorandum," Friedrich concluded. "For this reason, the plaintiffs have failed to show they are likely to succeed on their claims. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that the plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction, Dkt. 28, is DENIED."

Reactions to the ruling

The Associated Press reported that Alan Butler Morrison, the lead attorney for the migrant rights advocacy groups, said of Judge Friedrich's decision, "The plaintiffs are disappointed in the Court’s denial of our preliminary injunction, but the case is far from over. We are considering our options."

Noting the strict limitations of the agreement that were laid out by the judge, the attorney added, "So far, DHS has not made formal requests for taxpayer data and plaintiffs will be keeping a close watch to be sure that the defendants carry out their promises to follow the law and not use the exception for unlawful purposes."

Meanwhile, Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS spokesperson, told Fox News that the IRS-DHS agreement was intended solely to "determine what public safety and terror threats may exist so we can neutralize them, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense."

"Under President Trump’s leadership, the government is finally doing what it should have all along -- sharing information across the federal government to solve problems," she continued. "Biden not only allowed millions of illegal aliens -- including gang members, suspected terrorists, and violent criminals -- to flood into our country, but he also lost them due to incompetence and improper processing."

McLaughlin added, "Today’s ruling is a victory for the American people and for commonsense."