Washington, D.C. – A nearly $10 million federal contract is raising questions about whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement is seeking access to tax identifier data after courts blocked a separate IRS data-sharing arrangement.
404 Media reported that ICE awarded a June 5 contract to Thundercat Technology for “ITIN data subscription and analytics for HSI agents in fraud investigations.” ITINs, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, are used by people who cannot obtain Social Security numbers, including many undocumented immigrants who file taxes.
The procurement record confirms the contract language and lists ICE as the funding agency. However, the exact data included in the subscription has not been publicly disclosed, meaning there is evidence of an ITIN-related contract but not yet public proof of which personal records ICE will receive.
Sen. Ron Wyden said the contract appears to be an attempt to bypass taxpayer privacy laws and court limits on IRS-ICE data sharing. Earlier this year, watchdog and court filings raised concerns about a separate IRS agreement that shared taxpayer information with ICE for immigration investigations.
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