Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Ways and Means Committee Democratic members Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) and Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) released the following joint statement after the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration confirmed that the Internal Revenue Service illegally leaked the confidential tax information of 47,000 taxpayers to the Department of Homeland Security.

In February, Representatives Gomez, Sánchez, Thompson, and Sewell led 14 Ways and Means Democratic colleagues in demanding an investigation into the leak.

“The inspector general confirmed what we knew from the start: what the Trump administration did was illegal,” the members said. “The IRS handed over private taxpayer information to DHS in clear violation of federal law and public trust.

“Immigrants pay their taxes trusting that their information won’t be weaponized against them. The Trump administration destroyed that trust on purpose.

“As troubling as the leak is, the inspector general’s failure to issue a single recommendation to prevent this from happening again is just as alarming. We’ll keep fighting to protect all taxpayers’ information from being leaked and to hold the Trump administration accountable.”

The inspector general’s report is available HERE.

Despite strict federal privacy laws protecting taxpayers, the IRS agreed in April 2025 to share sensitive personal information, including names and addresses, of individuals targeted for immigration enforcement. Federal courts have ruled that sharing this data violates taxpayers’ rights. The agreement was one of several instances where the Trump administration unlawfully violated the privacy rights of immigrants and working families.