Shannon Gleeson

Professor of Labor Relations, Law & History

Shannon Gleeson is a professor of labor relations, law and history and studies the politics of immigrant worker rights. While the agreement focuses on those immigrants with final orders of removal, or who are under criminal investigation, she says this distinction obscures the impact this shift in policy will have. 

Gleeson says:

“Generally, unauthorized presence in the United States is a civil violation. This new policy is another tool for the increased criminalization of immigrants and will help ICE pursue criminal prosecution of individuals who fail to leave the country within 90 days of having been ordered removed.

“This shift contradicts years of best practice that encourages all responsible individuals in the United States to file taxes, regardless of immigration status. This benefits both the country, and individuals who rely on these tax returns to document their income for the purposes of financial transactions, benefits eligibility, and even immigration adjudication. 

“Even those individuals without a social security number have well-established mechanisms to pay taxes, including with the use of a Taxpayer Identification Number. Accordingly, undocumented immigrants (who are generally ineligible for almost all federal benefits) contributed $59.4 billion to the federal government in 2024.

“The result of this policy is sure to be increased fear in all government entities, which will have a devastating impact on all immigrant communities, including those in mixed status families with U.S. children whose have a legal right to many benefits.” 

Susan Morgenstern

Adjunct Professor of Law

Susan Morgenstern, adjunct professor of law, and former senior attorney at the Center for Taxpayer Rights, says Acting IRS commissioner Melanie Krause’s resignation speaks volumes.

Morgenstern says:

“I think these departures send a message to taxpayers that the administration may be shirking the IRS's obligation to follow and administer the tax laws fairly, particularly now that the agency's leadership has apparently been bypassed in order to expose statutorily protected personal information. 

“For taxpayers whose personal information may be shared for non-tax purposes, these taxpayers may face the tough choice of tax compliance or personal safety. Being a part of the American economy should not come with such a choice, and it violates a trust that had been in place up until this point.”