A federal judge temporarily suspended an attempt by the Trump administration to allow immigration authorities to access immigrant tax information registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

The judicial decision represents a new setback for the immigration strategy promoted by the White House, which seeks to use fiscal tools to identify and locate people without legal status.

According to information published by The New York Times, government officials are also analyzing changes to the tax identification system known as ITIN, used by millions of people who do not have a Social Security number.

Currently, these codes allow immigrants, foreign workers and people without permanent residence to comply with their fiscal obligations, open bank accounts and even process driver's licenses in some states.

However, the Trump government proposal considers modifying these codes to specifically differentiate immigrants.

Government seeking identifying immigration status

According to sources cited by the same media, the administration is analyzing requiring certain taxpayers to explicitly reveal their immigration status to the IRS.

The measure could discourage thousands of people from filing taxes for fear of sharing sensitive information with immigration authorities.

Additionally, the project emerges after a previous attempt by the federal government to include direct questions about immigration status on tax forms.

Although there is no definitive decision yet, experts warn the cited media that the strategy could affect the confidence of immigrant communities in the U.S. tax system.

It should be remembered that tax information is protected by strict confidentiality laws and normally cannot be shared with immigration agencies except in exceptional cases.

Organizations alert about impact on immigrants

The judge decision occurs after civil rights advocates reported that data sharing between the IRS and ICE could be used to facilitate mass deportations.

Various organizations maintain that millions of immigrants pay taxes each year using ITIN numbers, contributing billions of dollars to the U.S. economy.

So far, neither the Treasury Department nor the IRS have provided detailed public statements regarding possible modifications.