US Governance — 2026-06-18

ICE Buying Immigrants Tax Identifiers from Data Broker

BLUFBecause a court order blocking IRS disclosures creates no cause of action against an unidentified commercial reseller, ICE's Thundercat purchase is unlikely to face judicial challenge within 90 days and offers a replicable workaround for any agency losing a government data-sharing injunction.

DHS awarded Thundercat Technology LLC a $9.97 million delivery order on June 5 for "ITIN data subscription and analytics," according to procurement records reviewed by 404 Media 12. Two federal injunctions bar the IRS-ICE data-sharing arrangement: a November 21, 2025 ruling finding it likely unlawful under IRC §6103, and a February 5, 2026 order by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.) explicitly prohibiting ICE from inspecting, using, or relying on any data obtained under the April 2025 MOU, under which ICE had already requested over one million records 2. The underlying data broker supplying Thundercat's ITIN-linked records remains unidentified in public filings 2. Senator Wyden, after reviewing the procurement records, described the contract to 404 Media as "a clear end-around both taxpayer privacy laws and a court order" 1.

Analysis
A court is unlikely to block ICE's use of the Thundercat-purchased ITIN data within 90 days of public disclosure. Moderate confidence rests on the statutory gap IRC §6103 leaves for commercial purchases and the opacity of Thundercat's supply chain, which forecloses rapid judicial discovery. The November 2025 injunction targeted IRS disclosures, not commercial resellers; the ruling's scope cannot reach a transaction whose upstream source remains unidentified in public filings. DHS will argue the §6103(i)(2) criminal-investigation carve-out covers subjects with final removal orders, not a general end-run on the court order. If the contract stands, any agency losing a court order blocking a government data pipeline gains a replicable commercial workaround. Congressional oversight staff and civil litigants hold a 90-day window to close the gap through legislation or a fresh suit targeting the reseller chain.

3 sources

ICE Appears to Be Buying Immigrants' Tax Identifiers from a Data Broker - 404 Media
ICE Appears To Be Buying Immigrant Tax IDs After Courts Blocked the IRS - Yahoo News
CONTRACT to THUNDERCAT TECHNOLOGY, LLC (ITIN Data Subscription and Analytics) - USAspending.gov