By Maribel Velazquez
A federal judge temporarily suspended an administration attempt trump to allow immigration authorities to access tax information of immigrants registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The court decision represents a new setback for the immigration strategy promoted from the White House, which seeks to use fiscal tools to identify and locate people without legal status.
According to information published by The New York Times, government officials are also analyzing changes to the tax identification system known as ITIN, used by millions of people who do not have a Social Security number.
Currently, these codes allow immigrants, foreign workers and people without permanent residence comply with your tax obligationsopen bank accounts and even process driver’s licenses in some states.
However, the Trump administration’s proposal contemplates modify these codes to specifically differentiate immigrants.
Government seeks to identify immigration status
According to sources cited by the same medium, The administration is considering requiring certain taxpayers to explicitly disclose their immigration status before the IRS.
The measure could discourage many people from filing taxes for fear of sharing unbiased exact information with immigration authorities.
Additionally, the project comes after a previous attempt by the federal government to include direct questions about immigration status on tax forms.
Although there is still no final decision, experts warn the aforementioned media that the strategy could affect the trust of immigrant communities in the US tax system.
It should be remembered that tax information is protected by strict confidentiality laws and cannot normally be shared with immigration agencies, except in exceptional cases.
Organizations warn about impact on immigrants
The judge’s decision comes after civil rights advocates alleged that data sharing between the IRS and ICE could be used to facilitate mass deportations.
Various organizations maintain that Millions of immigrants pay taxes each year using ITIN numberscontributing billions of dollars to the American economy.
So far, neither the Treasury Department nor the IRS have offered detailed public statements about the possible modifications.
Keep reading:
- ICE pays millions for warehouses used for immigration detention and big banks benefit
- Trump fires two immigration judges after rulings in pro-Palestinian student cases
- “He was about to graduate”: the story of Mauro Henríquez, the deported student in Texas
