Acting IRS chief to step down after immigration deal with DHS: report

The acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service is planning to step down following a deal with the Department of Homeland Security to allow ICE to access taxpayer information to locate illegal immigrants subject to deportation, reports say. 

Melanie Krause, who will participate in a deferred resignation program offered to IRS employees by the Trump administration, was bypassed in the agreement signed Monday between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter.  

Krause, who learned about the deal after the Treasury Department released details to Fox News, also had disagreements over the IRS’ future direction, the sources added. She will be the third leader of the IRS to leave the agency so far this year.

“She no longer feels like she’s in a position where she can impact the decision-making that’s happening,” one source told the Washington Post, which reported that Krause felt unable to push back on changes the Department of Government Efficiency is making within the agency. “And [she believes] that some of the decisions that are being made now are things the IRS can never recover from.” 

IRS AND DHS REACH HISTORIC DEAL TO AID IN PURSUIT OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION 

Krause is now expected to leave the IRS on April 28, according to The Wall Street Journal. The news of her resignation comes less than a week before Tax Day. 

“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,” the Treasury Department told the newspaper. “We wish Melanie well on her next endeavor.” 

The Treasury Department did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment from FOX Business. 

The Trump administration had filed a memorandum of understanding late Monday with a court to create guardrails and a process for ICE requests to the IRS to further investigations of criminal illegal immigrants who have failed or refuse to leave the United States 90 days after a judge has issued a final order of removal.  

The deal would allow ICE to submit the names and addresses of illegal immigrants to the IRS, who could then cross-check those immigrants’ tax records and provide the immigration agency with current address information. 

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“The Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement have entered into a memorandum of understanding to establish a clear and secure process to support law enforcement’s efforts to combat illegal immigration,” a Treasury Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.  

“The bases for this MOU are founded in longstanding authorities granted by Congress, which serve to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans while streamlining the ability to pursue criminals,” the statement said. “After four years of Joe Biden flooding the nation with illegal aliens, President Trump’s highest priority is to ensure the safety of the American people.” 

The Treasury Department is also committed to protecting the privacy of law-abiding taxpayers, but a criminal exception obligates the agency to assist law enforcement, a senior official said.  

“Under President Trump’s leadership, the government is finally doing what it should have all along: sharing information across the federal government to solve problems,” Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Wall Street Journal. 

Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Michael Lee contributed to this report.