{
  "version": "3.33",
  "compiled": "2026-10-09",
  "site": "https://stateofwatch.com",
  "claim": {
    "id": "dc-circuit-affirms-irs",
    "section": 2,
    "title": "D.C. Circuit keeps block on IRS-to-ICE disclosure process",
    "date": "Sep 8, 2026",
    "sort": "2026-09-08",
    "status": "verified",
    "checked": null,
    "note": "D.C. Circuit opinion read directly Oct. 3, 2026. This ruling addresses the IRS's implementation process, not the earlier Centro ruling that the written IRS-ICE agreement was lawful on its face.",
    "category": "court",
    "summary": "The D.C. Circuit kept a block on the IRS's automated data-sharing process after the agency conceded that some taxpayer addresses went to ICE through requests that did not meet federal law. The ruling did not forbid every IRS-to-ICE disclosure; it required strict compliance and advance notice to the district court.",
    "body": "A unanimous panel affirmed the order staying the IRS's Data-Exchange Procedure and requiring notice to the district court before further disclosures. The IRS had used that process to release 47,289 records. For 90.3% of them, it did not check whether ICE supplied a valid taxpayer address, and government counsel acknowledged that some transfers did not comply with the statute.\n\nThe appeals court held that the automated procedure was a final agency action that could be reviewed under the Administrative Procedure Act and was likely contrary to 26 U.S.C. § 6103. Judge Patricia Millett and Judge Robert Wilkins joined Judge Cornelia Pillard's opinion. This case concerned the agencies' implementation of the agreement; the earlier Centro decision had addressed the agreement's terms on their face.",
    "quotes": [],
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "Center for Taxpayer Rights v. IRS, No. 26-5006 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 8, 2026)",
        "primary": true,
        "docket": "26-5006",
        "url": "https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2026/09/08/center_for_taxpayer_rights_v._irs.pdf",
        "doc": "ctr-irs-dccir-opinion"
      },
      {
        "label": "Reuters"
      },
      {
        "label": "AP"
      },
      {
        "label": "Fox News"
      }
    ],
    "places": [
      "washington-dc"
    ],
    "url": "https://stateofwatch.com/claims/dc-circuit-affirms-irs"
  }
}