IRS-ICE deal affects immigrant tax filing numbers

ALTON, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy reports a 10% percent decrease on undocumented immigrants filing their taxes could cause the government more than $9.5 billion in revenue.

Local Tax preparers say the IRS's deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to share the data of undocumented migrants prompted less people to file their taxes with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).

Maximo Income Tax Owner Esperanza Sobrevilla reported a 50% drop this tax season.

“I think it is a violation of privacy because they were not given the option," Sobrevilla said. "At that point, I believe we should have informed them that their information could be shared and at that point they decide if they want to file or not.”

Sobrevilla says that some immigrants still filed their taxes even amid speculation of the deal as they believe they had nothing to hide.

“They just said that they had a clear record, and they have nothing to worry about and wanted to make sure that they were clear and were up to date on their taxes," Sobrevilla said. "They said that was for people that had bad record or criminal records for the ones they were going after, and that was why they were going to file, so we filed for them.”

Immigration attorneys believe this is a bad policy and one that violates the privacy rights of not just immigrants but of American citizens as well. One of these attorneys is Abdiel Echevarria from the Manuel Solis Law Offices in Harlingen.

“You are putting people between the sword and the wall on should I do it or should I not but this might have an impact on discretionary form of relief because people do have to prove good moral character," Echevarria said.

He also believes the policy makes it harder for immigrants wanting to prove that they can be good American residents or citizens.

“When you have someone who is authorized to work here in the united states and decided not to file taxes out of fear because this could trigger a deportation proceeding or a family separation, then you have a problem because how are you going to prove to an immigration judge that you are willing to comply with the laws of the United States," he added.

He also believes the government will lose out on revenue. The Institute on Taxation and Economic policy reported that in 2022 undocumented immigrants contributed about $96.7 billion in taxes.

“When the government loses money then they only have two pathways: either cut off services essential to everyone or it looks for that money from other sources and other pockets, and I am sure it is not going to be Elon Musk’s pockets," Echevarria said.