A recent report has highlighted worries regarding how the U.S. agency known as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been attempting to collect taxpayer details following federal courts’ restrictions on accessing taxpayer details from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
According to the investigative media firm, the agency intends to allocate approximately $10 million for purchasing details associated with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) from a private company. The estimated cost of the deal is reportedly about $9.97 million.
What Are ITINs?
ITIN is a tax ID number provided by the IRS. The number is used by people who do not qualify for Social Security numbers but want to file tax returns anyway.
ITIN numbers are mostly used by illegal immigrants to report their income and taxes. Government officers have been trying to encourage citizens to file their tax reports by promising protection from federal privacy laws.
That promise led millions of citizens to file their taxes with ITIN numbers.
Court Orders Blocked IRS Data Sharing
This is because the dispute emerged after a number of legal disputes over the access of taxpayer data.
The DHS and the Treasury Department signed an agreement for data exchange between the IRS and ICE in April 2025.
However, the agreement was quickly challenged in the courts.
The federal court in September 2025 barred the agreement for violating the privacy rights of the taxpayers, while a second decision in February 2026 barred the IRS from providing taxpayer addresses and ITINs related information to ICE.
This is because there are legal constraints in federal laws regarding the use and exchange of taxpayer data.
This appeared to stop any direct data exchange between the IRS and the immigration agency.
The New Data Broker Contract
The latest report suggests that ICE may now seek similar information through a private-sector source instead of obtaining it directly from the IRS.
Reportdely, the agency is looking to buy records connected to ITIN holders from a commercial data broker. The identity of the broker has not been publicly disclosed.
Critics argue that this approach could allow ICE to obtain information that courts have already ruled should not be shared through government channels.
The concern is not only about the data itself but also about whether purchasing the information effectively bypasses legal restrictions.
Senator Wyden Leads Criticism
Among the strongest critics is Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee.
Wyden questioned whether the reported contract is an attempt to work around both taxpayer privacy laws and court orders.
“It looks for all the world like Trump is trying to skirt the law and a court order to fuel his mass-deportation campaign,” Wyden said.
He also argued that buying similar information from private data brokers represents “a clear end-around both taxpayer privacy laws and a court order.”
Wyden has long opposed efforts to expand immigration agencies’ access to taxpayer information. He has also criticized ICE’s broader use of commercial surveillance tools.
Why Privacy Advocates Are Concerned
According to privacy groups, this is not just an immigration issue.
They maintain that voluntary compliance relies on trust. The belief that such data can be used against a person in the future might mean that some individuals will feel reluctant to file their tax forms or report income properly.
The advocates also note that the emergence of a new data broker market allows the authorities to gather information indirectly.
In the present case, opponents worry about the possibility that people who trusted privacy protections would nevertheless be identified using commercial information.
This is but one example of a broader legislative dilemma, which concerns the use of privacy law where personal information passes from government to the private sector.
A Long History of Data Broker Use
This contract is part of a wider trend.
ICE has been using commercial data brokers for many years. Earlier contracts have included companies like LexisNexis, Thomson Reuters, and Appriss.
In a 2022 report entitled “Sabotaging Sanctuary,” it was discovered that authorities were accessing information through private databases that could not be accessed directly due to state sanctuary laws.
It is evident that ICE and DHS have invested millions of dollars on these services over time. Some of the contracts have gone for over $20 million.
Defenders of these technologies claim that they enable the police to carry out investigations and find people effectively.
Opponents of this trend claim that it makes the privacy guarantees made by laws and the judiciary null and void.
What Happens Next?
The announced contract is going to come under intense scrutiny by Congress, privacy activists, and legal experts.
Doubts surround what kind of information ICE will get, where the data came from, and if the acquisition process adheres to all the previous court decisions.
Furthermore, it comes in times when immigration enforcement is high on the agenda of the Trump administration.
In any case, as the discussion goes on, the case is going to be a crucial test of how much a government agency can do in terms of acquiring personal information via a third party despite being denied access directly by the courts.
