Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Billy Long was removed from his position hours after the IRS and the White House clashed over the usage of taxpayer information to find thousands of illegal aliens in the United States, according to a recent report
“Two people familiar with the situation” told the Washington Post that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had sent the IRS a list of roughly 40,000 people that “DHS officials thought were” in the U.S. illegally. The IRS was asked to “use confidential taxpayer data to verify their addresses.”
Per the outlet, on Friday, the IRS revealed that “it was able to verify fewer than 3 percent of the names immigration enforcement officials submitted.”
On Friday, though, the IRS responded that it was able to verify fewer than 3 percent of the names immigration enforcement officials submitted, the people said.
The names the agency could match were mainly the individuals for whom DHS provided an individual taxpayer identification number. An ITIN is an IRS-specific ID that immigrants often use in place of a Social Security number on a tax filing. Undocumented immigrants pay tens of billions of dollars in taxes each year, which the ITINs help facilitate.
The sources told the Washington Post that Long — who President Donald Trump picked to lead the IRS in December 2024, “previously told agency executives that his agency would not furnish confidential taxpayer information outside of the confines of the IRS’s agreement with DHS.”
As Breitbart News reported, in April, the Treasury Department and DHS were reported to have signed a partnership that would allow U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to locate illegal aliens living in the U.S.
On Tuesday, the Washington Post reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had signed a memorandum that allows ICE agents to request tax information on illegal aliens the agency is looking to locate and deport.
Under the terms of the deal, Noem or ICE Director Todd Lyons can submit a request to the IRS for information regarding an illegal alien who has been ordered to be deported. From there, IRS officials could hand over information on such illegal aliens.
Several sources told NBC News that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was temporarily going to be leading the IRS.
