Instagram post gets facts wrong about use of deadly force by border agents and the IRS

Jeff Cercone, PolitiFact.com
·5 min read
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Viral Instagram post: “America now has a government that forbids border agents from using deadly force, but is training IRS agents to use SWAT-team tactics on law-abiding citizens.”

PolitiFact's ruling: False

Here's why: A social media user combined anxiety about crossings at the U.S. southern border and the future hiring of new IRS agents to create a post that’s misleading and incorrect.

"America now has a government that forbids Border agents from using deadly force … but is training IRS agents to use SWAT Team tactics on law abiding citizens," the Instagram post, shared Aug. 21, read.

The post is among many misleading claims about the IRS that have surfaced since President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law Aug. 16, providing the agency with $80 billion in funding over 10 years. Many falsely claimed the IRS is hiring 87,000 new, armed IRS agents who will target middle-class taxpayers.

The Instagram post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.

The post is wrong about Border Patrol agents’ ability to use deadly force, and it misleads about the role of IRS agents and how they interact with taxpayers.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection use-of-force policy dated January 2021 specifies that deadly force may be used by Border Patrol agents if those agents recognize a sufficient threat.

The agency "is entrusted with the critical responsibility of protecting our nation’s borders," it reads. "This mandate carries with it the authority to use force up to and including the use of deadly force."

Such force is considered "necessary" when there is a "reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury" to the agent or another person, the policy says.

Yolanda Choates, a CBP spokesperson, confirmed to PolitiFact that agents may use lethal force to enforce the law.

A Border Patrol Tactical Unit fatally shot the gunman in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting on May 24, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. In addition, CBP press statements show there have been at least three other fatal use-of-force incidents involving Border Patrol agents in 2022.

Within the IRS, the agents whom typical taxpayers would encounter in a routine audit do not carry weapons. The agency does, however, have a Criminal Investigation division.

There were 2,046 agents in that division in 2021, a small fraction of the IRS’ roughly 80,000-member workforce. Those agents carry weapons and investigate crimes such as money laundering, fraud and narcotics-related financial cases. They are permitted to use deadly force if needed, according to a job description and an IRS webpage.

The agents undergo extensive firearms training, which includes drills using tactical gear and breaching equipment, according to an IRS description of the agents’ training program.

But IRS policy is to assess risk before any raid involving the special agents. If entry is determined to be "high-risk," the agents will not enter, according to the IRS.

In those cases, "specially trained entry teams from other local, state, or federal agencies will be considered," and special agents may conduct their search after the scene has been secured, the agency said.

Our ruling

An Instagram post claimed "America now has a government that forbids Border agents from using deadly force … but is training IRS agents to use SWAT Team tactics on law abiding citizens."

Border Patrol agents are permitted to use deadly force if they believe they or another person are at risk of death or injury.

A small group of IRS agents — special agents in the Criminal Investigation division — can also use deadly force. But such force is not randomly employed on typical taxpayers, as the post claimed. Americans facing routine audits do not encounter these agents.

IRS special agents train with tactical gear and breaching equipment. However, IRS policy is to assess risk before entering a home or business in a criminal investigation, and if the situation is deemed high-risk, a specially trained team will secure the location instead.

We rate this claim False.

Our Sources

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Instagram post wrong about deadly force by border agents, IRS