Acting IRS Head Melanie Krause Resigns Amid Deal To Share Tax Data On Illegal Immigrants With DHS

Melanie Krause, the acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) commissioner, announced she would resign after the IRS made a deal with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to share tax data on illegal immigrants.

The Trump administration ordered the IRS to hand over this data on undocumented immigrants. Trump’s team is preparing for a program of mass deportations.

Homeland Security officials asked the department to reveal the names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of seven million people it claims are illegal immigrants so it can find and deport them. 

For decades, the IRS assured undocumented migrants, who contribute tens of billions of dollars in tax revenue each year, that they are safe to file their tax returns without concern of being deported.

Krause said she would participate in the Trump administration’s delayed resignation program to step down from her position. She is the third leader of the agency since Donald Trump‘s inauguration and is reportedly set to leave her role on April 28.

Two sources told The Washington Post that Krause was upset about being bypassed over the finalizing the agreement and was also against the direction the administration is trying to steer the agency in.

“She no longer feels like she’s in a position where she can impact the decision-making that’s happening,” the source mentioned. “And [she believes] that some of the decisions that are being made now are things the IRS can never recover from.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly went around Krause to sign a deal granting immigration authorities the desired access.

Bessent eventually ended up signing the “memorandum of understanding” with DHS.

In February, the DHS initially asked for the personal details of 700,000 people but was denied by acting commissioner Doug O’Donnell, who claimed it would be illegal to allow the request.

However, O’Donnell retired the following day, and Krause appeared more flexible when working with DHS.

She then took over, albeit in an acting capacity. She was only at the IRS for three-and-a-half years before she chose to leave.

“Melanie Krause has been leading the IRS through a time of extraordinary change,” a Treasury Department spokesperson declared in a statement.

“As we focus on IT modernization and re-organize the agency to better serve the taxpayer, we are also in the midst of breaking down data silos that for too long have stood in the way of identifying waste, fraud, and abuse and bringing criminals to justice. We believe these goals are critical to a more efficient government and safer country. We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor.”

Internal IRS lawyers warned that the deal might breach privacy laws. 

Handing over this data would be a massive escalation in Trump’s efforts to use the IRS to help in deporting millions of migrants in the U.S. illegally.

The IRS closely guards personal tax information, including names and addresses, and only discloses it in very serious circumstances.

Handing over data to facilitate immigration enforcement would significantly depart from established IRS procedures.

The IRS website says that illegal immigrants are “subject to U.S. taxes in spite of their illegal status.”