Sure would be nice to see the IRS in the rear-view mirror, wouldn’t it? It isn’t as impossible as it sounds; a switch to supporting the federal government with tariffs, duties, and perhaps a retail-level (only) federal sales tax would handle all of Washington’s constitutionally mandated expenses while making it possible to reduce the IRS down to a small staff just to crunch the numbers — maybe, say, 40 or 50 people. In the meantime, though, Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem has come up with a novel way for IRS agents to do some productive work, namely, helping Homeland Security with the repatriation of illegal aliens.
To that end, Secretary Noem has penned a message to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, asking for the help of the IRS in this effort. Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin has the details.
BREAKING: The Trump admin is seeking to deputize IRS agents to carry out illegal immigration enforcement with ICE in the U.S. interior. In a letter to Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, DHS Sec. @KristiNoem writes that IRS agents are needed to assist w/ apprehension & removal of… pic.twitter.com/hpxPQcMhWV
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 10, 2025
Mr. Melugin’s post reads:
BREAKING: The Trump admin is seeking to deputize IRS agents to carry out illegal immigration enforcement with ICE in the U.S. interior. In a letter to Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent, DHS Sec. @KristiNoem writes that IRS agents are needed to assist w/ apprehension & removal of illegal aliens. A senior DHS official tells me they expect the request to be granted.
It reads in part:
“It is DHS’s understanding that the Department of the Treasury has qualified law enforcement personnel available to assist with immigration enforcement, especially in light of recent increases to the Internal Revenue Service’s work force and budget. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a DHS component, has the following needs…”
And:
“This letter requests that you make qualified officials from the Department of the Treasury available to work with ICE and that you consent to those officials being deputized to perform immigration functions pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1103(a)(6).”
The letter specifically asks for assistance in things that the IRS agents should be good at, including supporting task forces and collaborative efforts, targeting employers engaging in unlawful hiring practices (Why “unlawful? Why not just say “illegal?”), investigating human smuggling and trafficking rings, seizing assets, apprehension, monitoring, detention, and removal.
Well, why not? This is a big job.
See Related: It’s Happening: First Flights Full of Illegal Aliens Headed for Guantanamo Bay
CNN’s Dana Bash Tries to Trip Up DHS Head Noem on Trump Policies. Any Guesses How THAT Turned Out?
It would make little sense to hire an army of new Homeland Security agents when the IRS is, thanks to the Biden administration, generously staffed up. Maybe some of the IRS agents so redeployed will see some appeal to doing something positive for a change and will cross-deck over to Homeland Security. Two birds, one stone.
The Border Patrol could use some help, but there would seem to be a lot of federal employees who are facing the loss of their phony-baloney jobs; maybe some of them could join up.
In all seriousness, though, there is an enormous task ahead of the nation’s immigration and border enforcement authorities. There may be as many as 20 million — maybe more — people in the country illegally. Homeland Security and Border Czar Tom “The Hammer” Homan are doing right in prioritizing criminals, gang members, and people on the terror watch list, but sooner or later, if we are to have a consistent, lawful immigration policy, all of the people here illegally will have to go.
If the IRS can help with that, so much the better.
