History Essay

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From ABC-CLIO's The Latino American Experience website https://latinoamerican2.abc-clio.com/

IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT The lmmigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) established sanctions for employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers, IRCA's purpose was to limit and control the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States. The employer sanctions strove to reduce the demand for undocumented immigrants among employers. To lower the number of undocumented immigrants residing in the country, the law also included an amnesty program. Protections against employment discrimination that might result from employer sanctions and a temporary worker program were also included.

Passage and Hearings

The passage of IRCA was a 1S-year process, beginning with a series of hearings about illegal immigration in 1971. Political pressure for these hearings grew from concerns that undocumented mlgrants take jobs from U.S. citizens, drive wages down, and use social services without paying taxes, though empirical studies about these concerns varied widely in their conclusions. Others expressed worries over an "underclass" of easily exploited undocumented immigrants during this debate.

The hearings were also a response to the consequences of the lmmigration Act of 1965. This law had lifted historical bans on immigration against citizens of countries in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres. The 1965 law shifted the focus of U.S. immigration policy to family reunification, allowing larger numbers of immigrants to enter the country. Some theorists suggest that xenophobic responses to these increases in legal, non-European immigrants, particularly Asians and Latinos, were played out ln the increased concerns over illegal immigration that led to IRCA.

'1970s: Formation of the Select Commission on lmmigration and Refugee Policy

Although there was little agreement on the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States during the 1970s, the press and politicians began to insist that large numbers of undocumented immigrants were in the country. Much of the debate was fueled by Mexicans illegally crossing the southern border to work in the Southwest, Texas, and California. lllegal crossings had increased after the abolition of the bracero program in 1964, which had allowed Mexicans to legally enter the United States as temporary workers.

ln 1978 the Select Commission on lmmigration and Refugee Policy was created to study the effects of undocumented migration to the UnitedStates.Thecommission's1981 reportlaidthegroundworkforthefinal provisionsof lRCA,recommendingemployersanctions,a temporary worker program, and amnesty for current undocumented immigrants.

IRCA Passes

IRCA was finally passed in 1986. Under IRCA, any employer of four or more employees must certifu that all new hires are legally allowed to work in the United States. This requirement led to the creation of the l-9 form that all workers must complete when starting a job. lt requires a combination of identification materials to prove eligibility for employment, Forms of identification include passports, driver's licenses, Social Security cards, voter registration cards, and various lmmigration and Naturalization Service (lNS) documents, such as an alien registration card (better known as a green card). Employers that knowingly hire unauthorized workers are subjectto civil and criminal liability, including monetary fines and possible jail time. There is no process for employers to verify the validity of identification, and employers are not liable if employees use falslfied or stolen documents to attain eligibility.

Provisions

ln response to concerns at the time of IRCA's passage that employer sanctions would lead to discrimination against legal workers who are foreign-born or have an accent, IRCA contains provisions against discrimination. Employers cannot require any certain combination of documents or prefer certain documents for the l-9, Employers cannot require that job applicants or employees are U,S. citizens, IRCA directed the General Accounting Office (GAO) to conduct audits of discrimlnation related to the employer sanctions program. The law authorizes the termination of employer sanctions, should the GAO find evidence of widespread discrimination. ln March 1990, the GAO found that discrimination was occurring as a result of IRCA's requirements. However, since the discrimination was not "widespread," the employer sanctions remained in effect. Recent studies continue to find evidence of discrimination based on country of origin, including significant negative earnings effects on Latino workers in the short term.

Under IRCA's general amnesty, any undocumented immigrant who arrived in the United States prior toJanuary 1,1982, and could prove continuous residency for at least five years could become a legal immigrant. Those eligible could apply for legalization from May 1987 to May '1 988. ln 1981, the Select Commission on lmmigration and Refugee Policy had recommended that any amnesty provision contain a recent arrival date, since failing to do so would mean a substantial number of recent immigrants would remain undocumented, However, political pressures led to the requirement that only those who had resided in the United States for five years were eligible. This requirement may have caused fewer immigrants to request amnesty because undocumented immigrants may have had difficulty proving continuous restdence. Some immigrants' families included ineligible members who arrived more recently, and those who were eligible may have been

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812912019 Print Display - lmmigration Reform and Control Act - Reference Articles reluctant to expose them by applying for amnesty. According to a 1990 analysis of IRCA, 1.7 million people were legalized through the general amnesty program, which is approximatelytwo-thirds of those who would have been eligible, based on estimates of the undocumented immigrant population at the time.

Opposition to the IRCA

Many employers, particularly agricultural employers, opposed passage of IRCA and its predecessor bills because they stood to lose a major labor pool. To obtain final passage of the bill, a compromise was created by then Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY), creating a temporary worker program known as the special agricultural workers (SAW) program. Any undocumented immigrants who had worked for 90 days or more in agriculture between May 1985 and May 1986 were eligible to receive temporary residency in the United States and later become permanent resident aliens. Some 1.2 million undocumented immigrants were legalized under the SAW program, rivaling the number legalized through the general amnesty provision of IRCA.

Visa Lottery

IRCA also included a visa lottery for 10,000 visas for countries negatively impacted by the 1965 immigration law. This lottery was later expanded in 1988 and continues to allow immigrants from underrepresented countries a possible opportunity for permanent residency.

Undocumented lmmigration

Although researchers and policy analysts still have difficulty measuring the number of undocumented immigrants currently residlng in the United States, it is generally agreed that significant illegal immigration continues, despite IRCA's attempts to lessen undocumented immigration. IRCA's employer sanction provisions remain in effect, but some argue their impact is seriouslyweakened bythe use of forged or stolen documents and enforcement difficulties.

Ariana Funaro