By Hayden Cunningham | The Post Millennial
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking access to confidential tax records from the Internal Revenue Service in an effort to locate as many as 7 million people believed to be in the United States illegally, according to a report by the Washington Post.
DHS officials have previously requested information on approximately 700,000 individuals who are subject to final deportation orders, asking the IRS to provide names and addresses. The size of the request later expanded, with DHS officials saying they would submit preliminary queries for about 2 million people, which then rose to 7 million.
However, the two agencies have yet to reach an agreement on how much tax information the IRS is willing to disclose. Lawyers from both agencies have been in ongoing negotiations over the matter. Acting IRS Commissioner Melanie Krause has reportedly told staff she expects the agency will ultimately comply with the Trump administration’s request.