Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Introduced by Senator Simpson (R-WY) and signed into law by President Reagan, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 made it unlawful for people and companies in the United States to hire undocumented people and/or continue to employ them despite knowing their status. The act also stated that it is a fair hiring practice for employers to hire US citizens and/or documented residents over equally qualified undocumented workers. The most noteworthy piece of the legislation is under Title II of the Act: any undocumented person can apply to gain temporary status and then permanent status as long as they can prove that they had been living in the US since Jan 1, 1982 without having commited any felonies nor at least three misdemeanors and prove that they understand some English and have some knowledge of American history and government.

Before the act passed, some undocumented Mexican immigrants would move in and out of the US in cycles but because of the Act's further militarization of the border, crossing the border became more expensive and more dangerous, so settling in the US and sending remittances home became the norm. The number of undocumented immigrants coming from Central America also increased in the 1980s following US intervention in the military conflicts in Central America. Some of these refugees played a part in advocating for the provisions under Title II in the Act that gave undocumented immigrants the path to change their status. While the Act did help 2.7 million undocumented people gain residency - including thousands in the South - it did not help keep people from moving to the United States. At the time of the bill's signing, there was an estimated 3.2 million undocumented people living in the United States but by 2000, that number had grown to about 8.5 million undocumented people.

See:

Gonzales, Alfonso. Reform without Justice : Latino Migrant Politics and the Homeland Security State. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Pg 53-55.

Warde, Bryan. "Undocumented Immigration." In INSIDE U.S. IMMIGRATION POLICY the Historical and Social Forces Shaping Contemporary Debates. New York: ROUTLEDGE, 2025. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003375012.

Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), page one.

Congress.gov. "S.1200 - 99th Congress (1985-1986): Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986." November 6, 1986. https://www.congress.gov/bill/99th-congress/senate-bill/1200.

November 6, 1986.