Feds' latest tool in push to curb immigration: Workers' tax IDs

Juan Carlos Chavez, Tampa Bay Times on May 6, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

For hundreds of thousands of immigrants without permanent legal status, a nine-digit number from the Internal Revenue Service serves as a lifeline.

The Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, or ITIN, allows individuals without Social Security numbers to work for contractors and pay taxes.

But a recent agreement between the revenue service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to share immigrants’ tax information has raised growing concern about how data tied to these numbers and their holders might be used.

The agreement will allow the immigration agency to submit the names and addresses of people living in the United States without legal status to the Internal Revenue Service for cross-verification against tax records. The agreement, said acting ICE director Todd Lyons, will be “strictly for major criminal cases,” according to the Associated Press.

But in the field, not many believe it.

“The situation is getting worse every day, with immigration continuing to stop people,” said Virginia Tenchipe, 50, of Dover.

She obtained an individual number in 2006 after she came from Mexico by crossing the southern border. Tenchipe used it to work in construction and to clean offices and homes. It has been the only way she could support her family and do her part to stay in good standing with the government, at least when it comes to paying her taxes.

“Every year, no matter what,” she said.

Tenchipe is one of many people who use an individual number to live and work in the United States. Across Florida, it’s common among workers in sectors like maintenance and construction. A report by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Florida collected $1.8 billion in taxes from about 747,000 immigrants without legal status in 2022, ranking fourth nationally after California, Texas, and New York.

But Ira Mehlman, spokesperson for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the individual number has been distorted. He said some employers classify what he called “illegal alien workers” as subcontractors to bypass laws banning their hire.

“The vast majority of people filing tax returns using ITINs are illegal aliens,” Mehlman said. “Cooperation between the Department of Homeland Security and the Internal Revenue Service is critical to track and remove aliens from the United States.”

According to a 2023 audit by the Administration of the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number Program, the individual number has become widely accepted by third parties outside of the Internal Revenue Service, for uses such as receiving loans and stablishing a credit history.

The audit said 26 million numbers had been issued since the program began in 1996. Now, there are more than 5.8 million active numbers. In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, nearly 487,000 new numbers were issued.

The anxiety about the deal to share immigrants’ tax data isn’t limited to the workers themselves. Daniel Castellanos, director of workforce engagement at Resilience Force, a nonprofit that advocates for disaster laborers and construction workers, called the situation “a total injustice.”

Jose Luis Ortiz, a Palm Beach construction contractor who does business across the state, said the pressure is real. Workers are worried that they could be questioned or investigated by the government, he said, with a new order targeting a number that, until now, has been a lifeline for many immigrants.

“They’re not alone,” Ortiz said. “Many have families with mixed immigration status.”

Raquel Pedraza, a tax specialist based in Clearwater, said some of her clients have asked her if it might be better not to pay taxes because of the situation. Others have thought about selling their corporation. More than one has looked into transferring the business to a family member with legal permanent status.

Every year, Pedraza prepares tax returns for more than 100 workers and business owners who opened their corporations using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.

“The order to share and access information that could link users’ private information has created anxiety,” she said. “If you look at it, it’s a pressing situation.”