New Mexico immigration rights group suing over IRS data-sharing agreement

A New Mexico immigrant and worker rights advocacy group is part of a lawsuit challenging an agreement the Internal Revenue Service has made to share some taxpayer data with the Department of Homeland Security.

Since the 1990s, when undocumented immigrants pay taxes — as required by federal law — the IRS has generally not shared their personal information with other federal agencies or for immigration enforcement. There is a limited exemption for law enforcement investigations with court approval. On Monday, the IRS moved forward on an agreement to share some of that personal information with DHS for undocumented immigrants already facing deportation orders or under federal criminal investigation.

“For that to be reversed in this moment of extreme threat and attack and vulnerability is highly immoral, and it will be devastating to New Mexican families, our local tax base and local businesses,” said Marcela Díaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido.

President Donald Trump has made increasing deportations and immigration enforcement a priority, fulfilling an oft-repeated campaign promise.

“Many have abused the generosity of the American people, and their presence in the United States has cost taxpayers billions of dollars at the federal, state, and local levels. Enforcing our nation’s immigration laws is critically important to the national security and public safety of the United States,” reads an executive order Trump signed in January focused on increasing immigration enforcement.

Somos Un Pueblo Unido is one of four immigrant rights groups attached to the lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in March. The lawsuit argues that there is no statutory authority for the IRS to share the taxpayer information. A federal judge declined to block the data sharing with an emergency order in March, but another hearing is scheduled next week.

Somos Un Pueblo Unido has promoted filing taxes using individual taxpayer identification numbers (ITINs) for the last 30 years.

“Organizations like ours have promoted the use of ITINs because we have been assured as organizations in this field that this information would not get shared. And there are all of these additional benefits to paying your taxes using your ITIN,” Díaz said.

Undocumented immigrants can use individual taxpayer identification numbers to file taxes, get a driver’s license in New Mexico, open an interest-bearing savings account, or establish credit history so they can get loans or mortgages. About 16% of small business owners in New Mexico use ITINs to open their businesses, according to the American Immigration Council.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus issued a letter Tuesday signed by 23 members of Congress, including Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., calling on the tax-collection agency to reconsider the agreement.

The state Legislature passed its own data privacy regulation this session, Senate Bill 36, which would prohibit state agencies like the Motor Vehicle Division from sharing sensitive personal information with outside agencies, which Díaz would like to see become law. The bill has yet to be signed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.