{"id":2573023,"date":"2026-02-24T13:04:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T18:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T13:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T18:05:53","slug":"d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations\/","title":{"rendered":"D.C. Circuit Greenlights IRS Policy Aimed At Boosting Deportations"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fd-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2573023&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel unanimously rejected a challenge to a Trump-era IRS data-sharing policy that would allow the IRS to provide taxpayers\u2019 addresses to the Department of Homeland Security to aid immigration enforcement. The three-judge panel, led by Chief judge Sri Srinivasan with Judge Patricia Millett and Senior Judge Harry Edwards, held that the plaintiffs failed to show they were entitled to a preliminary injunction and that, while one plaintiff had standing, the challengers were unlikely to succeed on the merits. The court emphasized that a memorandum of understanding between the IRS and DHS is nonbinding and not a final agency action under the Administrative Procedure Act, and it found that 26 U.S.C. \u00a7 6103(i)(2) authorizes disclosure of address facts to specific government officials for non-tax investigations under a valid request. Consequently, the court did not overturn the policy on the merits, and did not address the government\u2019s other arguments.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:MS-13_gang_member_with_assault_convictions_removed_to_El_Salvador_(50044145473).jpg\">usicegov\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=D.C.%20Circuit%20Court%20Shoots%20Down%20Bid%20To%20Block%20IRS%20Data-Sharing%20Policy%20Aimed%20At%20Boosting%20Deportations&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=D.C.%20Circuit%20Court%20Shoots%20Down%20Bid%20To%20Block%20IRS%20Data-Sharing%20Policy%20Aimed%20At%20Boosting%20Deportations&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=D.C.%20Circuit%20Court%20Shoots%20Down%20Bid%20To%20Block%20IRS%20Data-Sharing%20Policy%20Aimed%20At%20Boosting%20Deportations&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/24\/d-c-circuit-court-shoots-down-bid-to-block-irs-data-sharing-policy-aimed-at-boosting-deportations\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>A federal appellate court shot down a challenge to a Trump administration data-sharing policy on Tuesday that aims to boost the deportation of illegal aliens in the United States. <\/p>\n<p>In its <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42071\/gov.uscourts.cadc.42071.1208824911.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unanimous decision<\/a>, the three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied left-wing plaintiffs&rsquo; request to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dhs-floats-new-way-to-identify-majority-of-illegal-immigrants-currently-in-us\/\" title=\"... Floats New Way to Identify Majority of Illegal Immigrants Currently in US\">sharing tax information<\/a> with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assist with the latter&rsquo;s immigration enforcement operations. The panel was comprised of Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Judge Patricia Millett, both Obama appointees, and Senior Judge Harry Edwards, a Carter appointee. <\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-959748990\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>As described by Edwards in his majority opinion, plaintiffs filed their lawsuit in the D.C. federal court system challenging the administration&rsquo;s policy last February &ldquo;shortly after news reporting that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (&lsquo;ICE&rsquo;) was seeking address information from IRS to aid in locating&rdquo; illegal aliens in the United States. The challengers&rsquo; request that the D.C. district court issue a temporary restraining order against the policy was rejected the following month.<\/p>\n<p>This prompted plaintiffs to subsequently file a motion for the court to issue a preliminary injunction halting the policy&rsquo;s enforcement. According to Edwards, they argued that the IRS&rsquo;s policy &ldquo;is contrary to law because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/26\/6103\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">26 U.S.C. &sect; 6103(i)(2)<\/a> prohibits disclosure of addresses alone&rdquo; and that the agency &ldquo;had acted arbitrarily and capriciously by changing its interpretation of &sect; 6103(i)(2) without adequate explanation or consideration of <a href=\"https:\/\/dictionary.justia.com\/reliance-interest\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reliance interests<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While the plaintiffs&rsquo; request for a preliminary injunction was being considered, the IRS and DHS executed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in early April 2025 &ldquo;outlining procedures that will govern requests under [federal law] for &lsquo;addresses of persons subject to criminal investigation.&#8217;&rdquo; As summarized by Edwards, &ldquo;Both IRS and DHS acknowledged that, if ICE&rsquo;s requests were invalid or unsatisfactory in some way, IRS would not disclose the information sought.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While the district court found one plaintiff had standing to bring the suit, it ultimately determined that the challengers &ldquo;were unlikely to succeed&rdquo; on the merits of their arguments. As such, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/court-upholds-florida-law-restricting-ccp-land-purchases\/\" title=\"... Upholds Florida Law Restricting CCP Land Purchases\">court denied plaintiffs&#038;rsquo<\/a>; request for an injunction. <\/p>\n<p>In agreeing with the district court&rsquo;s decision, the D.C. Circuit panel similarly ruled that while one of the named plaintiffs &ldquo;has standing to pursue this action, Appellants are unlikely to succeed on the merits of their claims.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The only issue that we decide is whether, on the sparse record before us, Appellants have met their heavy burden to make a clear showing that they are entitled to the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >preliminary injunctive relief sought<\/a>. For the reasons indicated, we conclude that Appellants have not,&rdquo; Edwards wrote. <\/p>\n<p>The Carter appointee countered challengers&rsquo; claim that the administration&rsquo;s policy runs contrary to what the law in question requires. He specifically noted how the specified provision of the statute &ldquo;authorizes IRS to disclose address information, to specific government officials, for use in nontax criminal investigations, and only in response to a valid request.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Edwards additionally refuted plaintiffs&rsquo; claim that the government&rsquo;s policy is &ldquo;arbitrary&rdquo; and &ldquo;capricious&rdquo; by underscoring how the IRS-DHS MOU &ldquo;is a nonbinding policy statement without legal effect,&rdquo; and &ldquo;is thus not a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/d-c-circuit-trump-can-downsize-federal-regulatory-agency\/\" title=\"D.C. Circuit: Trump Can Downsize Federal Regulatory Agency\">final agency action reviewable<\/a> under the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/wex\/administrative_procedure_act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Administrative Procedure Act (&lsquo;APA&rsquo;)<\/a>.&rdquo; &ldquo;Furthermore,&rdquo; he wrote, &ldquo;if we find, as we do, that the &lsquo;best reading&rsquo; of the statute does not support Appellants&rsquo; position, then no agency action may countermand the court&rsquo;s judgment.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Indeed, Appellants readily admit that a remand to IRS to further explain its new interpretation would be a &lsquo;useless formality&rsquo; given the court&rsquo;s duty to independently interpret the statute,&rdquo; Edwards added. <\/p>\n<p>Tuesday&rsquo;s ruling does not address the Trump administration&rsquo;s &ldquo;alternate arguments against issuance of a preliminary injunction, none of which are jurisdictional,&rdquo; according to the court. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/d-c-circuit-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">D.C. Circuit Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/data-sharing\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">data sharing<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/department-of-homeland-security\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Department of Homeland Security<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/deportations\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Deportations<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ice\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ICE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/immigration-enforcement\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">immigration enforcement<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/injunctions\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">injunctions<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/irs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">IRS<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Trump Administration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DC Circuit upholds tax data sharing to aid deportations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2573024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ICE-6.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[74468,8675,3813,74469],"class_list":["post-2573023","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-dc-circuit-2","tag-deportations","tag-immigration","tag-irs-policy-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ICE-6.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573023","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573023"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573023\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2573027,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573023\/revisions\/2573027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2573024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573023"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573023"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573023"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}