The Internal Revenue Service’s acting commissioner is resigning over a deal to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S.

Yet another example of this Administration desperately shooting itself in the foot and turning their lies into truth.

“Illegal” immigrants are a net positive to the economy. They pay billions in taxes and receive few benefits.

If ICE gets access to our taxes, immigrants will stop paying. A real win for America.

Tom Bowman, policy counsel for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said disclosing immigrant tax records to DHS for immigration enforcement “will discourage tax compliance among immigrant communities, weaken contributions to essential public programs, and increase burdens for U.S. citizens and nonimmigrant taxpayers. It also sets a dangerous precedent for data privacy abuse in other federal programs.”

Props to the commisioner for refusing, but don’t just resign. Make them walk you out the door. We need more disobedience and malicious compliance.

  • Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
    0·
    16 days ago

    I don’t think they’d be able to control the narrative at all if done correctly.

    If you get ahead of the firing, notify the news, and force them to trespass you, this headline could instead say “Trump handcuffs/arrests/forces out IRS Acting Commisioner for refusing to hand over taxpayer data to ICE”

    • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
      0·
      16 days ago

      But there will be some people who assume that if a Federal employee is handcuffed/arrested/forced out, that they must have done something wrong.

      • Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
        0·
        16 days ago

        It’s a common mistake that you should avoid doing something because someone somewhere might take it the wrong way.

        The narrative will be twisted, the lies will be spread, the propaganda will work. None of that is a reason to stop fighting, because none of that stops happening when you stop fighting, and very few of those people would have joined your side anyway.

        Make them arrest you. Make them explain why. Sue them in court. Make them explain why again under oath.

        We’re not dealing with the OG Nazis, who meticulously recorded their evil for the world to see. We’re dealing with new age Nazis, who set their national security messages to delete automatically and like to pretend that the FOIA doesn’t exist.

        Use every tool at your disposal to slow them down, document their crimes, and cause Good Trouble.

        • dhork@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          16 days ago

          I think you are making a mistake in assuming that publically resigning is “avoiding doing something”. It is making an affirmative statement that you were told to do something so unethical that you couldn’t continue in that capacity. It is doing something quite consequential. Done correctly, it can be more impactful than letting them fire you.

          • Initiateofthevoid@lemmy.dbzer0.comOPEnglish
            0·
            16 days ago

            But there will be some people who assume that if a Federal employee is handcuffed/arrested/forced out, that they must have done something wrong.

            I think you are making a mistake in assuming that publically resigning is “avoiding doing something”.

            I never assumed that, I agree that public resignations are good - or at the very least, appropriate.

            You suggested that some people may see an arrest and assume the worst. That is always a possibility. In fact, it is an inevitability that someone will assume the worst of anything you do. That is not a sufficient reason to avoid doing something - anything - in general.