Tax penalty
Indignity Vol. 5, No. 63
CURRENT EVENTS DEP'T.
The IRS Gets Recruited Into Immigration Enforcement
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, the New York Times reported today, has apparently set up a memorandum of understanding between the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security, under which the IRS would let Immigration and Customs Enforcement examine people's personal income-tax information "for nontax criminal enforcement." The Times wrote:
Federal law tightly controls taxpayer information, protecting home addresses, earnings and other data from disclosure even to other agencies within the government. I.R.S. officials have for weeks warned that the Trump administration’s plan to use the I.R.S. to help with deportations could be illegal. The top I.R.S. lawyer was demoted as the agreement came together, and was replaced by a former Trump nominee.
"Could be illegal" was a classic cautious Timesian understatement. The data-sharing would be entirely illegal. The IRS operates on the basic principle that collecting tax revenue is an independent government activity, in which taxpayers are expected to be honest with the government about how much money they made, and in exchange for that honesty, the government is supposed to use that information to collect taxes and not to do anything else with it. Illegal gamblers are required to report the money they won, because they owe taxes on that income; law enforcement agencies are forbidden to search tax returns to figure out who the illegal gamblers might be.
And undocumented immigrants are obligated to pay all the taxes that a fully authorized member of the United States workforce would pay, including Medicare and Social Security taxes for which they will never personally collect benefits. They get taxpayer numbers in lieu of Social Security numbers so the government can keep orderly payment records.
As with so many other actions the administration has taken, it's easy enough to project the specific harms directed at undocumented immigrants out onto everyone else: if ICE can use IRS files to pursue migrants who've been accused of crimes, there's no reason in principle that other law enforcement agencies couldn't also arrange to consult the IRS if they want to track down non-migrant suspects. But that sort of reasoning doesn't extend anywhere near far enough. If ICE uses IRS files to pursue migrants, despite the law against it, then any part of the government might use anything against anyone.
Using tax records to hunt down migrants is not just a violation of some specific data-management laws of the IRS. It's a rejection of the entire concept of lawful government. It means that the United States can't be trusted to honor its established everyday obligations to the people here.
This is the big, irreversible truth about Donald Trump's second presidency. No one can safely count on any of the promises, agreements, arrangements, or understandings that life runs on.
Noncitizens are the first and easiest targets. Holding a properly issued student visa doesn't mean you can complete your term of studies; holding lawful permanent residency doesn't mean you can lawfully permanently reside here. Protected legal status doesn't mean you can't be grabbed in "error" and imprisoned abroad and denied recourse. Entering the United States on a valid visa doesn't mean you're able to travel freely and it doesn't mean you won't suddenly lose that visa. The First Amendment doesn't mean you're allowed to lead a protest or participate in a protest or go near a protest or publish your opinion in the newspaper.
But immigration status is only one of the many pillars of people's existence that the administration claims the power to kick away. Working under a government grant doesn't mean you'll get paid your grant money. Having a legally protected government job doesn't mean you won't be arbitrarily fired, or if you aren't fired, it doesn't mean you'll have an office. Enrolling in a government-backed medical study doesn't mean you'll get treatment. If you're on Social Security, the government won't necessarily send you your check, or answer the phone when you try to find out where your check went. The food inspectors won't necessarily be around to inspect the food. Law firms can't represent certain causes or clients without the risk of retaliation.
Whether these various violations all stand up in court, in the medium or long term, is irrelevant. What matters is that they can happen at all—that one person's whims have the power to destabilize anything and everything. The entire American system can't be relied on. Even if the country got rid of Donald Trump tomorrow, why would anyone believe in its reliability again?
WEATHER REVIEWS
New York City, April 7, 2025
★ The drafts that had relieved the suffocating night air turned frigid in the daytime. Outside was dark again, wet again, and now cold on top of that—the flower-friendly showers of proverb gone raw and nasty. The air out on the balcony smelled less like growing things and more like just dirt. The late part of the daylight, such as it was, stretched wanly on and on, and then the night sky shone with light trapped by the clouds. Even a few moments out in the damp left the elbows aching.
EASY LISTENING DEP'T.
HERE IS TODAY'S Indignity Morning Podcast!
Tom Scocca
CLICK ON THIS box to find the Indignity Morning Podcast archive.
TOM SCOCCA
ADVICE DEP'T.
GOT SOMETHING YOU need to justify to yourself, or to the world at large? Other columnists are here to judge you, but The Sophist is here to tell you why you’re right. Direct your questions to The Sophist, at indignity@indignity.net, and get the answers you want.
SANDWICH RECIPES DEP'T.
WE PRESENT INSTRUCTIONS in aid of the assembly of a sandwich selected from Prague Chapter Book Of Recipes, compiled by Marie Paidar and Blanche Kammerer, published in 1922, and available at archive.org for the delectation of all.
COTTAGE CHEESE SANDWICHES— One-half pound cottage or Neufchatel cheese, riced, one-fourth cup pimentos or stuffed olives, chopped. Add salt to cheese and mix to a smooth paste with a little cream, then gently stir in the pimentoes. One-half cup chopped walnuts may be added. Serve between thin slices of bread. JULIA M. FARA.
If you decide to prepare and attempt to enjoy a sandwich inspired by this offering, be sure to send a picture to indignity@indignity.net.
