IRS Commissioner Resigns After Deal to Share Confidential Taxpayer Information with ICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Melanie Krause, the acting head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has resigned her post after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed an agreement that would allow the IRS to share confidential taxpayer data with DHS to aid in immigration enforcement, according to reports. The Trump administration filed a redacted version of the data sharing agreement in a lawsuit brought by Centro de Trabajadores Unidos, Immigrant Solidarity Dupage, Inclusive Action for the City and Somos Un Pueblo Unido, represented by Public Citizen Litigation Group, Alan Morrison and Raise the Floor Alliance. In response, Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement:

“The resignation of acting Commissioner Krause as a result of a decision to share information with immigration enforcement officials highlights concerns about the ethics and legality of the deal.

“Our laws were intended to keep taxpayer data confidential. This backroom deal by Secretary Bessent and Secretary Noem, partly disclosed in a court filing, violates those laws. The Trump administration’s political efforts to use immigrants’ tax data against them should send chills down the spine of every U.S. taxpayer who disagrees with this administration. Undermining the legal protections for sensitive taxpayer information is dangerous, and Krause’s resignation signals the severity of this unconscionable move by the Trump administration.”