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As the April 15 deadline for filing federal taxes approaches, many will stress over the complexities of filling out tax forms and locating seemingly esoteric documents.
The process may be even more complex for immigrants, as they wrestle with the fact that the Internal Revenue Service agreed to share immigrants’ tax data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year, for the purpose of identifying and deporting people not authorized to be in the country.
In November, a federal judge blocked the IRS from sharing data with ICE. A second federal judge ordered the IRS to cease sharing filers’ addresses with ICE, saying it potentially violated taxpayer privacy rights.
But the damage was already done before judges stepped in, as ICE requested over 1 million records from the IRS with the tax agency handing over tens of thousands of files to ICE.
Tax season is underway and you have until April 15 to file your return with the IRS.
Lawmakers across the country criticized the move, saying it undermined trust built with immigrant communities over decades and could endanger billions in anticipated tax revenue from undocumented people going forward.
In California alone, undocumented taxpayers contributed an estimated $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Nationwide, undocumented immigrants paid $96.7 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, the ITEP study also found.
As Politico reported last month, the volume of tax return filings nationwide this year were down almost 2% from the same early-March point in the tax season last year.
Mark Mazur, a former Treasury official under President Biden, told Politico that it’s likely that fewer undocumented immigrants are filing this year due to the fear of interacting with the government.
“[Immigrants] often filed their income tax returns to indicate that they were compliant with U.S. laws, in hopes that it would eventually help them obtain citizenship,” Mazur said. “But the path to citizenship seems less clear and many have concerns about the IRS sharing their tax data with immigration enforcement agencies.”
He also noted that he’d seen less people with immigrant status filing at the tax clinic where he works in the Washington, D.C., area.
Elsewhere, an immigration lawyer in Charlotte, N.C., told WFAE that her clients bring up their concerns with filing their taxes in light of the data sharing on a regular basis.
A Trump administration plan to begin targeting undocumented immigrants using IRS data has sparked fear, anger and economic concern in California, where undocumented taxpayers contribute billions in local and state taxes.
“People want to file their taxes, but they fear that filing could somehow target them,” she said.
One Milwaukee tax preparer told a local Fox affiliate that he’s noticed fewer immigrants filing taxes this year, out of fear that their information will be shared with immigrant agents.
“The community is scared that the IRS is sharing information,” he said. “Even the documented people, sometimes they are hesitant to file, because they put their family at risk that don’t have [documents].”
David Klasing, a longtime California tax attorney/CPA, advised that people of all statuses should continue to file their taxes on time, so as to avoid any penalties that could jeopardize their status with the U.S.
“Tax problems can derail immigration plans because immigration filings often require taxpayers to answer direct questions about their filing history, outstanding tax obligations and financial compliance,” Klasing told The Times.
IRS CEO Frank Bisignano faced the House Ways and Means Committee to speak about the agency’s progress in serving taxpayers as the 2026 tax season is in full swing.
“Applicants must then support those answers with documentation. For example, the current N-400 naturalization form’s tax section focuses on whether the applicant owes any overdue federal, state, or local taxes. It also asks whether the applicant treated themself as a non-U.S. resident for tax purposes and indicated nonresident status on a tax return.”
Klasing noted that unfiled returns, inconsistent reporting or unresolved tax debt could put a spotlight on people and serve as cause for federal agencies to look into their tax records.
Tax issues could also impede people in the process of becoming citizens from having the documents that show an ability to provide for themselves in this country.
Failing to file taxes could lead the IRS to garnish wages or take funds from bank accounts, which could impede someone’s ability to make rent or pay other bills. An inability to pay for services on time could negatively affect visa and green card applications.
“[Agencies] can freeze accounts and create a documentation scramble when the taxpayer needs bank statements, proof of payments and proof of compliance,” Klasing said.
Klasing also flagged that skipping out on filing taxes could lead to criminal charges in some cases, which would immediately put in danger someone’s immigration status.
Amid a ramp up in federal immigration sweeps in California in the last year, two of the state’s biggest public pensions have invested in contractors who work with those law enforcement agencies.
“Owing tax is not a crime. Willfully failing to file can create criminal exposure under federal law, and willfully making false statements, submitting false documents or engaging in evasion conduct can drive far more serious exposure,” Klasing said.
The state of California also marks such behaviors as criminal activities.
“When a taxpayer signs forms, makes sworn statements or submits tax-related documents without solid records, they increase the risk that an examiner or investigator frames the conduct as intentional,” Klasing said.
The attorney’s main advice to tax-filers who are concerned is for them to file their taxes as soon as they can, file any missing tax returns, keep any and all payment documents and for them to never lie or guess on any forms.
For those who have already made false filings or lied on documents, Klasing recommended finding legal representation that can help avoid these actions reaching the level of criminal offenses.
