WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Less than a week before the deadline to file your taxes – the IRS’ top leader is stepping down.
Acting IRS Chief Melanie Krause is resigning after the agency agreed to share immigrants’ tax data with ICE agents.
Reports say Krause is stepping down over the data sharing agreement which is being used to support deportation efforts.
Melanie Krause has been the acting director of the IRS since February.
Recently Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem struck a deal giving ICE access to immigrants’ personal tax and financial information.
The agreement allows ICE to submit to the IRS names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally for cross-verification against tax records.
The Treasury department says the agreement will help carry out President Donald Trump’s agenda to secure U.S. borders
The data-sharing agreement marks a significant shift in longstanding IRS policy, which keeps taxpayer information confidential.
Immigration advocates, however, say the IRS-DHS information-sharing agreement violates privacy laws and diminishes the privacy of all Americans.
Some legal experts say the IRS could be in violation of the law for sharing anyone’s tax information at all.
DHS says the data-sharing agreement will only be used in major criminal cases.
Krause is the third person to lead the IRS since President Donald Trump returned to office.
