Restoring the American Homebuyers Dream Act

Key Points

• This bill would force the Treasury Department to hand over personal information about people who file taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) to immigration enforcement at the Department of Homeland Security. This includes names, addresses, filing status, and information about spouses and adult dependents.
• ITINs are tax processing numbers given to people who cannot get a Social Security number, which includes many undocumented immigrants. These numbers allow people to file and pay federal taxes regardless of immigration status, and some ITIN holders have also used them to obtain mortgage loans.
• The bill's sponsors claim that illegal immigration has driven up housing costs and that sharing this tax data will help enforce immigration laws. The bill frames the issue as a housing affordability crisis caused by undocumented immigrants competing with American families for homes.
• The bill says that any shared information must only be used for immigration enforcement and must be protected under existing taxpayer privacy safeguards and penalties.
• This would be a major change to Section 6103 of the tax code, which has historically kept taxpayer information strictly confidential. Breaking down that wall between tax data and immigration enforcement could discourage ITIN holders from filing taxes, reducing federal tax revenue.