Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986)

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the influx of immigrants from Asia and increasing immigration, particularly illegal immigration from Central America and Mexico, Congress enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act (1986). Introduced by Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) and Romano Mazzoli (D-Ky.) in 1985, the act granted temporary resident status to illegal immigrants who had lived in the United States prior to January 1, 1982, provided they had no criminal record and were not on welfare. By exhibiting a basic understanding of English and civics, these residents could achieve permanent resident status after 18 months. More than 1.7 million aliens applied for temporary residency under this program. In addition, illegal immigrants who had lived in the country for three years and were employed as agricultural workers could claim temporary resident status and could become permanent residents three years after the enactment of the law, provided they worked at least one more year in agriculture. Eventually 1.4 million illegal immigrants took advantage of this program.

To discourage further illegal immigration, Congress authorized more than $800 million over two years for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). Congress also increased the penalties levied on employers for hiring or smuggling illegal immigrants into the country. These penalties included fines of up to $10,000 for each illegal immigrant employed and the possibility of six months in jail for each immigrant employed. Also, the bill reduced the number of days’ advance notice an employer must give to apply for a permit to hire foreign workers.

In terms of preventing illegal immigration, the law was largely a failure as illegal immigration, especially from the porous southern border of the United States, continued in the 1990s. In urban areas the INS could raid businesses employing illegal immigrants. Planters in Texas and California applied pressure through their congressional representatives to restrain INS raids in their fields during harvest time. In addition, the people in these regions who served on juries proved many times that they would not convict farmers for hiring illegal immigrants.