Rep. Cleaver Joins Over 100 House Democrats in Filing to Defend Taxpayer Privacy at the IRS

(Washington, D.C.) – This week, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) joined the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) and over 100 House Democrats in filing an amicus brief in the case Centro de Trabajadores Unidos v. Bessent, urging the D.C. district court to block an unprecedented agreement that would grant immigration enforcement access to millions of taxpayers’ confidential IRS records. 

The brief reinforces Congress’s long-standing, bipartisan intent to maintain a strict firewall between tax administration and immigration enforcement. It defends the integrity of the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) program and taxpayer privacy protections under 26 U.S.C. § 6103. Established in 1996, the ITIN program enables individuals ineligible for Social Security Numbers to comply with federal tax law. In 2022 alone, ITIN filers paid $59.4 billion in federal income taxes—plus billions more to Social Security and Medicare, despite being ineligible to receive those benefits.

“The American people have been very clear that they do not support the President allowing unelected bureaucrats or immigration extremists to access private, personal information on millions of American citizens at the Social Security Administration or the IRS; and historically, the courts have agreed to this commonsense principle,” said Congressman Cleaver. “As this administration continues to break the law to further their political goals, I’m proud to join my friends in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the fight to uphold the rule of law and protect the privacy of millions of Americans in Missouri and all across the country.”  

“Taxpayer privacy is a cornerstone of our democracy and a principle Congress has protected for nearly 50 years,” said CHC Chair Adriano Espaillat. “The IRS promised immigrant taxpayers their information would be kept confidential when they stepped up to follow the law. Breaking that promise not only violates the law—it jeopardizes the critical contributions millions of working families make to programs like Social Security and Medicare.”

The full list of signers includes Representatives Gabe Amo, Yassamin Ansari, Becca Balint, Nanette Barragán, Joyce Beatty, Ami Bera, Suzanne Bonamici, Julia Brownley, Salud Carbajal, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Kathy Castor, Joaquin Castro, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Judy Chu, Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr., Yvette D. Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, J. Luis Correa, Jim Costa, Joe Courtney, Jasmine Crockett, Danny K. Davis, Madeleine Dean, Maxine Dexter, Lloyd Doggett, Sarah Elfreth, Veronica Escobar, Adriano Espaillat, Cleo Fields, Lizzie Fletcher, Bill Foster, Laura Friedman, Maxwell Alejandro Frost, John Garamendi, Jesús G. “Chuy” Garcia, Robert Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Jimmy Gomez, Maggie Goodlander, Al Green, Pablo Jose Hernandez, Steven Horsford, Jared Huffman, Glenn Ivey, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Henry C. ("Hank") Johnson, Jr., Sydney Kamlager Dove, Robin L. Kelly, Ro Khanna, Teresa Leger Fernandez, Mike Levin, Sam Liccardo, Ted W. Lieu, Lucy McBath, Jennifer L. McClellan, Betty McCollum, James P. McGovern, LaMonica McIver, Gregory W. Meeks, Robert Menendez, Dave Min, Kevin Mullin, Jerrold Nadler, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Scott Peters, Chellie Pingree, Nellie Pou, Mike Quigley, Delia C. Ramirez, Emily Randall, Jamie Raskin, Luz Rivas, Deborah Ross, Raul Ruiz, Andrea  Salinas, Linda T. Sanchez, Mary Gay Scanlon, Jan Schakowsky, Lateefah Simon, Adam Smith, Darren Soto, Melanie Stansbury, Greg Stanton, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, Bennie G. Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, Paul Tonko, Norma Torres, Ritchie Torres, Lori Trahan, Derek Tran, Juan Vargas, Gabe Vazquez, Nydia M. Velázquez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maxine Waters, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Frederica S. Wilson.

The official amicus brief is available here.

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Greenwood, Blue Springs, North Kansas City, Gladstone, and Claycomo. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee and Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance.