| Immigration Reform And Control Act Of 1986 |
Article Index for Immigration |
Website Links For Immigration |
Information AboutImmigration Reform And Control Act Of 1986 |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986 | |
| 1986 in law | |
| immigration to the united states | |
| mexican-american history | |
| united states federal immigration and nationality legislation | |
| history of the united states 1980–1988 | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
There were a great deal of immigrants in the United States at the time who were either illlegal or unemployed. The law criminalized the act of knowingly hiring an undocumented worker and established financial and other penalties for those employing illegal aliens, because it was thought that not as many people would be attracted to enter the U.S. illegally if the prospects for employment were low. A one-year Amnesty program for illegal aliens who had already worked and lived in the U.S. since January 1982 was established. Those eligible could apply for regularization of status and eventually full Citizenship . The law also mandated the intensification of Border Patrol activities including the auditing of employer I-9 forms. Over 2.7 million Illegal Aliens and others not qualifying for visas were legalized under the 1986 IRCA amnesty. This piece of legislation is frequently cited by opponents of illegal immigration as a failure in that for each illegal alien amnestied under the plan, approximately four new ones have since replaced them. Hence, these critics point to the IRCA of 1986 as proof in their view that amnesty is not the solution for the large number of illegal aliens currently in the United States. |