Trump Admin Loses Third IRS Chief Amid Clash Over Immigration Data

Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause is planning to step down amid a clash with the Trump administration over sharing data with Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding undocumented migrants.

Newsweek reached out to the Treasury Department via email Tuesday night for comment.

Why It Matters

Since his January 20 inauguration, President Donald Trump has implemented sweeping changes, mainly through executive orders, and has prioritized immigration as a key pillar.

Trump last month utilized the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, a wartime law that grants the commander in chief authority to detain or deport non-citizens.

The implementation was blocked in federal court and has sparked a fiery legal back-and-forth as the administration continues to push for restarting the deportations.

What To Know

The Trump administration’s pending agreement would allow ICE to cross-reference names and addresses with IRS data, multiple outlets previously reported. Tax information is typically considered confidential and punishable by criminal penalties if improperly shared.

The court document says in part that “information will only be used by officers and employees of ICE solely for the preparation for judicial or administrative proceedings, or investigation that may lead to such proceedings.”

In a report by Reuters citing The Washington Post, Krause will now participate in a deferred resignation program after news of her plans to step down.

Krause previously took over as lead for the agency after Doug O’Donnell retired in February. O’Donnell served as IRS commissioner since January.

Before O’Donnell, Danny Werfel served as the IRS chief but announced his plan to resign on Trump’s Inauguration Day, with years left in his term.

Internal Revenue Service — IRS headquarters is pictured on February 20 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

What People Are Saying

A Treasury spokesperson, in an email to Newsweek late Tuesday night: “Melanie Krause has been leading the IRS through a time of extraordinary change. As we focus on IT modernization and re-organize the agency to better serve the taxpayer, we are also in the midst of breaking down data silos that for too long have stood in the way of identifying waste, fraud, and abuse and bringing criminals to justice. We believe these goals are critical to a more efficient government and safer country. We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor.”

Representative Jimmy Gomez, a California Democrat, posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday: “The IRS should NEVER be weaponized to target immigrant families. This backdoor deal with ICE shatters decades of trust—and may be illegal. I serve on @WaysMeansCmte. I will fight this with everything I’ve got. No one should fear that filing taxes puts their family at risk.”

Senator Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, posted to X on Tuesday: “This is deeply shameful and breaks a promise that information immigrants provided the IRS to pay their taxes would not be used for deportations. The U.S. Senate must hold immediate hearings with Treasury and DHS leadership to get direct answers and hold them accountable.”

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, also posted to X on Tuesday: “There are many questions raised about this new agreement, which seems to violate previous understandings of the laws requiring IRS not to share taxpayer information. But at its heart it does not seem that the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] permits ICE to ask for taxpayer data for deportation reasons.”