Use of IRS immigrant data triggered conflict with the Billings Dome

• The conflict between the IRS and the Billings Dome concerned data about immigrants.
• Billy Long was removed from his position as IRS commissioner after the supercheck.
• Illegal immigrants annually contribute significant taxes.

The conflict between the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Billings Dome arose from the use of tax data to identify suspected illegal immigrants. This occurred several years before the Trump administration removed IRS Commissioner Billy Long on Friday, September 9, 2025.

On Thursday, August 8, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sent the IRS a list of 40,000 individuals whom DHS officials considered illegal immigrants, and urged the IRS to use confidential tax data to confirm their addresses. This agreement for data exchange was made in the spring, without mentioning the prohibitions on the confidentiality of IRS matters.

According to estimates, there are nearly 11 million illegal immigrants living in the USA. The IRS managed to confirm less than three percent of those sent by the immigration service. Mostly these were individuals for whom DHS provided a taxpayer identification number.

Illegal immigrants annually contribute taxes in the tens of billions of dollars. Officials from the Billings Dome requested additional information about taxpayer identification, including whether they received a tax credit for earned income, but the IRS refused to provide that information due to the confidentiality rights of taxpayers.

Long, who held the position for less than two months, stated that Trump plans to appoint his successor in Iceland. He expressed satisfaction with the appointment process, although he hinted that he really wanted to be transferred to ICE, the immigration and customs enforcement agency.

Officials from the Billings Dome noted that Long was doing well in office, and his promotion to ambassador had been planned long ago.

Tags: USA/Politics