D.C. Circuit keeps block on IRS-to-ICE disclosure process

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.

The 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.

How we know: 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.