Weaponized Compliance: An Alliance Against Migrant Communities

-- By JacobLucero 26 Mar. 2025

Introduction

The recent agreement between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to share immigrants’ taxpayer information to help President Trump's mass deportation efforts is a blatant disregard for well-established constitutional safeguards. Under the guise of law enforcement cooperation, this agreement embodies a deeply unethical targeting of migrant communities. The IRS and ICE are weaponizing information freely given in good faith to punish those who have sought only to comply with the law. The very individuals who contribute economically and socially, often at great personal risk, are now rendered vulnerable by the very systems they trusted. The IRS-ICE agreement is a deep erosion of government legitimacy and individual rights.

Statutory Violations

The Internal Revenue Code has long maintained a strict wall around taxpayer information, notably through U.S. Code § 6103. This provision sets forth that taxation should be separate from other state functions, ensuring that individuals can comply with tax obligations without fear of political or punitive retaliation. The IRS created ITINs (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) in 1996 to help migrants legitimize their place in the United States. Since then, ITINs have been used by individuals with no social security number to pay taxes, get a driver’s license, open an interest-bearing savings account, and provide proof of residency. Individuals trying to adjust their immigration status would also use their ITIN number and record of paying taxes to show good moral character. Naturally individuals without a legal status were concerned about giving their private information to the government, but they were told not to worry. The IRS promised that an ITIN would not be an immigration-enforcement tool. However, that has all changed. The Trump administration is exploiting a narrow exception within the U.S. Code § 6103, designed for specific criminal investigations, to carry out its mass sharing of data regarding undocumented individuals. What was once an avenue for folks to adjust their immigration status and contribute to our society has become an avenue to their peril.

Expansion of the Surveillance State

The IRS was once seen as a neutral, nonpartisan agency focused purely on tax administration. Now, it has been pulled into the growing machinery of the security state. What starts as “cooperation” between agencies can easily become a permanent system of surveillance and punishment. Migrant communities are particularly vulnerable because they often lack political power, financial resources, or legal protections. When these communities interact with the government—whether to work legally, file taxes, or apply for a driver's license, they are not just participating in society anymore. They are exposing themselves to tracking, monitoring, and removal. Once everyday life becomes dangerous for one group, the pattern extends to others. The expansion of the surveillance state starts at the margins, but it never stays there.

Privacy Implications

The privacy implications here go far beyond the migrant community. When people give information to the government, they expect it to be kept safe. They expect promises to mean something.

If the government can turn around and use information against migrants today, what stops it from doing the same to others tomorrow? Every time a basic promise of confidentiality is broken, trust in the government weakens. And without trust, even basic functions like paying taxes or applying for government services start to break down.

There’s a long history of governments using moments of crisis—or claiming emergencies—to roll back rights. Once certain groups are singled out, it becomes easier to justify further abuses against others.

I know I have the privilege of not having to worry about my citizenship status. But that doesn’t mean I’m safe from the larger pattern I see unfolding. If protecting rights is now a matter of political convenience, no one’s rights are truly secure.Today, migrants are the targets. Tomorrow, it could be journalists. Activists. Or anyone who falls out of favor with those in power. I can’t help but wonder: how many more promises will be broken before we realize that trust, once lost, might not come back? How long before everyone, citizen and non-citizen alike, feels the consequences?

Conclusion

The agreement between the IRS and ICE is more than just a policy change—it is a warning. It shows how easily government promises can be broken, and how quickly trust can collapse when rights are treated as expendable. Migrants who followed the rules and gave their information in good faith are now paying the price for that trust. By weaponizing taxpayer information, the government has not only targeted a vulnerable group but also set a dangerous precedent that puts everyone’s privacy and rights at risk. If we accept a system where basic rights depend on who holds power, we lose the foundation of fairness and protection that democracy is supposed to guarantee. Protecting the rights of migrants is not just about immigration, it is about defending the integrity of our government and the rights of us all. In sacrificing the trust and freedoms of some, we ultimately imperil the rights of all.

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