A federal judge in Massachusetts has ordered federal immigration authorities to stop using taxpayer information for immigration enforcement purposes.
U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued the ruling Thursday, blocking the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration from sharing taxpayer data with the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Judge Talwani said the DHS claim that noncitizens lack Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures is ripe for abuse.
The decision follows an agreement the IRS finalized last year with DHS to share tax data on suspected undocumented immigrants targeted for deportation. The data-sharing agreement reportedly enabled ICE to submit the names and addresses to the IRS of people who may be in the U.S. illegally. The IRS could then cross-reference that information with tax records for verification.
Undocumented workers are legally required to pay federal taxes on their income. To file tax returns, the IRS issues Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers and collects personal information, including addresses.
The Trump Administration is trying to boost U.S. supply chains for critical minerals, materials that make up everything from your cell phone to fighter jets.
A meeting with high level officials including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio went on at the State Department Wednesday, where more than 50 nations are considering a new trade pact that seeks to combat Chinese influence on rare earths and critical minerals.
The deal would cover more than a dozen critical materials, naturally occurring elements and minerals that are used in everything from jet engines to cell phone batteries and AI chips.
China has dominated this market, accounting for about 70% of mineral drilling markets and 90% of refinery markets. It has also frequently dumped cheap product on the global marketplace as a means of trying to push back against any competition.
The new U.S. effort seeks a trade agreement to try to enable countries to purchase minerals among themselves, setting some floor level prices and ensuring that countries participating in the deal will only purchase those minerals from other participants.
"This morning, the Trump administration is proposing a concrete mechanism to return the global critical minerals market to a healthier, more competitive state," said Vice President JD Vance. "A preferential trade zone for critical minerals, protected from external disruptions through enforceable price floors. We will establish reference prices for critical minerals each stage of production, pricing that reflects real world fair market value. And from members of the preferential zone, these reference prices will operate as a floor, maintained through adjustable tariffs, to uphold pricing integrity."
It remains to be seen how successful a deal would be, or what penalties or enforcement mechanisms would ensure compliance.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Monday that the agency was reviewing officer body camera footage related to the death of Alex Pretti, who was shot while being apprehended by federal immigration officials in Minneapolis over the weekend.
There is body camera footage from multiple angles which investigators are currently reviewing," a DHS official said in a statement to Scripps News.
When asked Monday if the body camera footage would be made public, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said "that's not something I've heard the president commit to." According to court filings, DHS is leading the investigation into Pretti's death, with assistance from the FBI and other federal agencies.
Up to this point, multiple videos circulating online have shown various different angles of the shooting, which occurred as demonstrators were protesting the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. Pretti, 37, was on hand apparently filming law enforcement activity, nearly one mile away from where Renee Good was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement agent earlier this month.
Video footage from one bystander showed Pretti standing in the street recording federal officers with a cell phone. One agent can then be seen approaching another person and pushing them down onto the ground. At that point, Pretti jumps between the agent and the protester and is pepper sprayed in the face. Seconds later, several other officers jump in and attempt to apprehend Pretti and a scuffle ensues. Officers are then seen backing away from him after at least one shot was fired.
WARNING | GRAPHIC CONTENT
Bystander video of fatal shooting during federal immigration enforcement protest
Separate video captured by another bystander showed the same struggle ensue before four consecutive shots are heard.
Bystander video captures fatal shooting during immigration enforcement protest
The Department of Homeland Security said that Pretti approached agents with a firearm with two magazines and "violently resisted" when officers attempted to disarm him. Pretti's family has said he owned a handgun and had a permit to carry a concealed firearm. However, the footage only shows Pretti holding what appears to be a cell phone in his hand.
In a sworn declaration filed in federal court, a civilian witness described what they said they observed moments before shots were fired. The witness said they never Pretti him reach for a weapon.
"I didn't see him with a gun," the witness stated. "They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times."
Relatives of Pretti described him as a dedicated intensive care nurse at the Veterans Administration, who was compassionate for others and deeply upset over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in his city.
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