A federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump has cleared the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to access tax information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in its efforts to locate and deport illegal aliens across the country.

The decision, handed down late Monday by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, denies a legal challenge brought by several left-wing nonprofits, including Centro de Trabajadores Unidos and Immigrant Solidarity DuPage. The plaintiffs attempted to block a new agreement between ICE and the IRS that allows agents to request tax data on individuals ordered for deportation.

“At its core, this case presents a narrow legal issue: Does the Memorandum of Understanding between the IRS and DHS violate the Internal Revenue Code? It does not,” Friedrich ruled, referencing the statute 26 U.S.C. § 6103(i)(2), which governs the disclosure of tax information to law enforcement.

The IRS-ICE deal, finalized last month, authorizes federal immigration agents to request and receive tax-related information on specific individuals who have been targeted for removal from the U.S. The IRS can now legally provide data, including taxpayer identification records and employment details, that may help ICE locate and apprehend fugitives in violation of immigration law.

Critics, including the lawsuit’s plaintiffs, claimed the data-sharing agreement would chill immigrant cooperation with tax authorities and potentially violate federal confidentiality laws. But Judge Friedrich rejected those arguments, noting that the law explicitly permits the disclosure of tax data for law enforcement purposes under tightly controlled circumstances.

This ruling could mark a turning point in ICE’s operational capacity. For years, agency officials have complained that sanctuary policies and restricted access to local databases have made it increasingly difficult to track illegal aliens inside the country. The IRS database, however, offers a rich trove of information on employment and address histories—especially for those using stolen or fraudulent Social Security numbers.

In a statement, legal analysts said the ruling affirms the Trump administration’s broader agenda to restore immigration enforcement and close loopholes exploited by illegal immigrants and their political enablers.

Under the terms of the agreement, IRS officials must still follow strict internal review protocols before responding to ICE requests. Each disclosure must be approved for a specific deportation case and cannot be used for broad immigration sweeps or fishing expeditions.

Still, this partnership could reshape how ICE targets criminal aliens and repeat immigration offenders. Many illegal aliens file taxes to obtain tax credits, build paper trails, or secure mortgages using stolen identities. This cooperation allows ICE to connect those filings to real-world addresses and employment sites.

Democrats and open-borders advocates are likely to escalate their opposition to the program, which they see as a dangerous precedent for the use of administrative data in immigration enforcement.

But supporters of the policy argue that it’s common sense: If the federal government has information that can help locate individuals with final deportation orders, it should use it.

“This is a lawful, narrow, and common-sense partnership,” one Department of Homeland Security official said. “If you are not supposed to be in this country, and a judge has already ruled you should be deported, we should use every legal tool to find you.”

The case, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos v. Bessent, will likely continue as a broader trial looms, but for now, ICE has a green light to use IRS data to help enforce the law.

This is yet another example of the Trump administration using the full weight of the federal government to bring order back to a broken immigration system—and it’s got the left fuming.