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Millions of people’s sensitive taxpayer data is at risk thanks to a new agreement between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security. And the public still doesn’t have the full details.
The full memorandum of understanding between the two agencies — initiated to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement in carrying out President Trump’s mass deportation plans — has been improperly shielded from the public, keeping secret vital information about exactly what tax data is at risk. That secrecy prompted American Oversight to file a motion in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the agreement’s implementation.
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The underlying lawsuit was filed in March by the nonprofit Public Citizen on behalf of two migrant rights groups, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos and Immigrant Solidarity DuPage.
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The IRS issues individual taxpayer identification numbers to people without Social Security numbers, including undocumented workers, who are required to pay income taxes. All taxpayer information, including these numbers, must be kept confidential under the Internal Revenue Code, and can only be disclosed as the code directs.
Our motion argues for the full release of the unredacted MOU and any briefs submitted in the case that were filed with redactions, citing the public’s right to access judicial records. We previously had also filed several public records requests for related documents from both ICE and the IRS.
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Minutes after filing our motion, the court ordered the government to swiftly file a redacted version of a brief that it had initially submitted fully under seal.
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We filed a reply brief on Wednesday seeking to make public the information still hidden under redactions, which the government argued should remain private by improperly invoking a Freedom of Information Act exemption that is typically used to shield sensitive law enforcement records or the identities of confidential sources.
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Our brief reiterates that DHS and the IRS have withheld public information about the agreement in violation of the public’s right to access court documents and asks the court to make all sealed or redacted information in the case publicly available. Read more here.
Investigating the Trump Administration’s Use of Vulnerable TeleMessage App
After an image circulated of now-former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz using the Telemessage app in conjunction with Signal during a cabinet meeting, we urged the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), to investigate the Trump administration’s use of the vulnerable app.
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The picture was captured by a Reuters photographer one day before Waltz’s departure from the White House. As it spread across news sites and social media apps last week, multiple hackers reportedly breached the TeleMessage system, leading the tool to suspend its services.
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In the letter we sent this week, we urged CISA and the GSA to immediately investigate the security risks posed by the use of TeleMessage, which is purportedly used to transmit and store data from Signal, and asked NARA to assign staff to examine whether officials have used the platform in compliance with federal record-keeping laws.
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We also called on acting Archivist Marco Rubio to recuse himself from the investigation because of his own use of Signal — and his status as a defendant in our related litigation.
On the Records
New Oklahoma Social Studies Standards Will Teach 2020 Election Denial
New Oklahoma social studies standards that include false claims of 2020 election “discrepancies” are set to go into effect — the most recent effort by state Superintendent Ryan Walters to inject far-right ideology into public education.
We’ve been investigating Walters’ efforts to whitewash history and promote Christian nationalism in public education, including his efforts to require Bibles in Oklahoma classrooms.
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We’ve filed several public records requests for information about Walters’ ongoing politicization of education in public schools. Having received no responses, we have now sent two letters demanding his administration turn over documents.
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Previously, we obtained documents that show that aligning education with conservative Christian ideology was an early priority of Walters: Soon after he took office, his staff circulated a draft document titled “Putting God Back in the Classroom.”
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Documents featured in our report on the far-right attack on public education reveal not just the political biases that are being woven into curriculum in other states, but also the kind of information and ideas that students are being denied.
Other Stories We’re Following
Trump Accountability
- Trump withdraws U.S. Attorney nominee, whose extremism tested limits for GOP senators (New York Times)
- Trump says he is naming Fox News host and former judge Jeanine Pirro as top federal prosecutor in DC (AP News)
- Trump says he is directing Bureau of Prisons to reopen Alcatraz to house ‘ruthless and violent offenders’ (CNN)
- Trump directs Department of Justice to try to free Tina Peters from prison in social media post (Colorado Public Radio)
- Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio says he met with Trump in Florida (Associated Press)
Federal Agencies
- Trump’s NIH axed research grants even after a judge blocked the cuts, internal records show (ProPublica)
- Justice Department will switch its focus on voting and prioritize Trump’s elections order, memo says (Associated Press)
- Privacy concerns swirl around HHS plan to build Medicare, Medicaid database on autism (CNN)
- FEMA chief is fired (Politico)
- At Trump’s urging, USPS board to name FedEx official as postmaster general (Washington Post)
- Trump taps MAHA influencer for surgeon general, replacing first pick (Washington Post)
- Internal VA emails reveal how Trump cuts jeopardize veterans’ care, including to ‘life-saving cancer trials’ (ProPublica)
- Amid DOJ shakeup, six federal attorneys removed from Louisville consent decree (Louisville Courier Journal)
- Hegseth orders cuts to Pentagon’s stable of generals and admirals (Washington Post)
- Voice of America will carry One America News programming (Washington Post)
- A gutted Education Department’s new agenda: Roll back civil rights cases, target transgender students (ProPublica)
- DOGE aide who helped gut CFPB was warned about potential conflicts of interest (ProPublica)
Grift, Graft, and Greed
- U.S. pushes nations facing tariffs to approve Musk’s Starlink, cables show (Washington Post)
- Hegseth attorney’s dual roles trip conflict-of-interest alarms (Politico)
- Report spotlights lobbying by White House chief’s former clients (Washington Post)
State and National News
- Judge orders elections board to certify Democrat’s victory in contested N.C. race (New York Times)
- Supreme Court lets Trump enforce transgender troop ban as cases proceed (New York Times)
- Trump administration asks court to dismiss abortion pill case (New York Times)
- ‘Rolling Thunder’: Inside conservatives’ strategy to curb abortion pill access (Politico)
- Once-fringe activists are fighting to be the voice of the anti-abortion movement (NPR)
- Texas bill would monitor wastewater for the abortion medication mifepristone (Dallas Morning News)
Immigration
- As Trump rushes to deport migrants, many worry children’s rights are being violated (Washington Post)
- Trump administration plans to send migrants to Libya on a military flight (New York Times)
- Judge warns Trump administration against Libya deportations (Washington Post)
- Trump administration considering labeling some suspected cartel and gang members inside the US as ‘enemy combatants’ (CNN)
- How a Florida driver reacts to seeing a border patrol car could get them pulled over, feds say (Miami Herald)
- WA officials considered offering National Guard help to Trump at Canadian border (Washington State Standard)
- U.S. border agents are asking for help taking photos of everyone entering the country by car (Wired)
- U.S. offers migrants free airline tickets and $1,000 stipend if they self-deport (CBS News)
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