Department of Homeland Security asks IRS to turn over unauthorized workers' addresses

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- With tax season now underway, there is growing concern among many unauthorized workers about how their information on file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) might be used.

ABC News has learned the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a formal request, asking the IRS to turn over information on unauthorized workers who have paid taxes.

"Is this a concern? Absolutely, it is," said Manuel Cunha with the Nisei Farmers League.

Cunha fears it could have dire consequences.

"You're going to uproot families across the country. Not just in California in the San Joaquin Valley, but across the country that have done this," Cunha explained.

"Hardworking people in our communities."

A source tells ABC that the Department of Homeland Security would provide names to the IRS and ask for their address, emails, and phone numbers in exchange.

The news is putting farmworkers on edge.

Xochitl Nunez in Tulare County tells Action News that she is a hard worker.

"We are peasants, we are not criminals," said Nunez.

Many undocumented workers have paid federal taxes for years using an IRS program that allows them to report their earnings, regardless of their immigration status.

Since the start, the IRS promised to not share their information.

"If there was ever a weaponization of government. This is a perfect example of that," said ABC30 legal analyst Tony Capozzi.

"Offering a program to help these people, and once they file something, they come after them and prosecute them."

Capozzi, a former federal prosecutor, calls the move unprecedented.

It comes just weeks after DHS Secretary Kristi Noem deputized IRS agents, asking them to support removals and arrests.

Capozzi says agents can work to investigate crimes, but cannot turn over tax returns.

"There's a taxpayer Bill of Rights that the IRS put out, and it deals with the right to privacy, a right to confidentiality," Capozzi explained.

"Then, there's a federal statute."

Sources tell ABC the IRS is now discussing how to accommodate DHS without violating tax laws.

Nunez says some workers are preparing to move, leaving the addresses the government has on file.

"If I am paying taxes, but now they want to arrest me, then I will not do it," Nunez said.

In an exclusive interview last month, Action News asked Republican Congressman Tom McClintock about DHS using tax filings for immigration enforcement.

He supported the cooperation, saying all agencies should work together to enforce federal immigration laws.

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