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The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed by Congress in 1986 and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan (R) on November 6, 1986. The law made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire individuals unauthorized to work in the United States and established a system for verifying the legal status of employees. The Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. Border Patrol were provided increased funding for the purpose of enforcing immigration law. IRCA also created new, separate visa categories for temporary agricultural work (H-2A) and temporary nonagricultural work (H-2B).

IRCA granted legal status to individuals residing in the United States without legal permission who met certain conditions; this provision of the law applied only to individuals who had entered the country before January 1, 1982. Ultimately, 2.7 million individuals were granted legal status under the law.[1]

In 1978, Congress passed a bill establishing the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy (also known as the Hesburgh Commission) to study federal immigration policy and make recommendations for changes to the system. According to the Migration Policy Institute, the commission's recommendations led to the introduction of the Immigration Reform and Control Act:[2]

Soon after, President Reagan announced that he would back an immigration compromise modeled on the Hesburgh Commission recommendations. In March 1982, Senator Alan Simpson (R-WY) and Representative Romano Mazzoli (D-KY), who had both been Commission members, introduced the first versions of IRCA (also known as the "Simpson-Mazzoli Act") in Congress.[3]

The bill failed to pass in both the 97th Congress and the 98th Congress.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was introduced as S 1200 in the United States Senate by Senator Alan Simpson (R-Wy.) on May 23, 1985. Its stated purpose was to "revise and reform the immigration laws, and for other purposes." The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 69-30 on September 19, 1985. The House passed an amended version of the bill via a voice vote on October 9, 1986. The Senate disagreed to the House amendments by a voice vote. S 1200 was then moved to conference committee; the House agreed to the conference report 238-173 on October 15, 1986, and the Senate agreed 63-24 two days later. President Ronald Reagan (R) signed the legislation into law on November 6, 1986.[4]

The Immigration Reform and Control Act made it unlawful for any employer to knowingly hire or recruit any individual unauthorized to work in the United States. It also made it illegal for an individual to use fraudulent entry or work documents. Employers were required to verify whether new hires were authorized to work in the country and made it illegal to continue to employ a person once aware of his or her unauthorized work status. Under the law, employers could use the act of having made an attempt to verify an individual's work status as an affirmative defense against allegations of violations of this provision.[4]

The verification system established by the law was as follows:[4]

The law permitted individuals and entities to submit complaints of potential hiring violations and authorized the Immigration and Naturalization Service to investigate such complaints. For noncompliant employers, the law established a system of increasing civil penalties for repeat violations:[4]

For patterns of violations, the law established criminal penalties of a fine of up to $3,000 for each unauthorized person employed and/or up to six months in prison.[4]

The Immigration Reform and Control Act granted temporary legal status to individuals residing in the United States without legal permission who had entered the country before January 1, 1982, had resided continuously in the country since that time, and were otherwise admissible under the law. Individuals who had entered the country legally but whose legal status had since expired were also eligible. Eligible individuals had to apply for such status within 18 months of the effective date of the act.[4]

Individuals who had been convicted of a felony or at least three misdemeanors or had taken part in political, religious, or racial persecution were ineligible to apply for the temporary legal status.[4]

Following the receipt of temporary legal status, such individuals could apply for permanent residency and a Green Card if they had continued to reside in the United States since the grant of legal status, had not been convicted of a felony or at least three misdemeanors, had a minimum understanding of the English language and U.S. civics, and were otherwise admissible. The law also waived most grounds for exclusion, excepting criminal, security, or drug-related grounds, for the purpose of maintaining family unity when possible.[4]

The Washington Post reported that about 2.7 million individuals were ultimately granted legal status under IRCA.[1]

The Immigration Reform and Control Act created new, separate visa categories for temporary agricultural work (H-2A) and temporary nonagricultural work (H-2B). Employers who submitted petitions for H-2A visa applicants were required to attest that there were not enough U.S. citizen workers available for the job and that the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. citizens would not be adversely affected. Under the law, such petitions would be denied if the job was open due to a strike, the employer violated temporary worker admissions terms, the employer had not provided workers' compensation to such workers, or if the employer had not made attempts to hire local workers.[4]

The law also established a program for adjusting the legal status of certain temporary agricultural workers. Individuals would be eligible for permanent residency if they had performed at least three months of seasonal work during the year preceding May 1, 1986, and were otherwise admissible. Eligible individuals were required to apply within 18 months of the effective date of the act.[4]

IRCA established a pilot version of the Visa Waiver Program. The pilot program allowed residents from up to eight countries to enter the United States without a visa.[4]

IRCA also increased funding for both INS and the U.S. Border Patrol for the purpose of enforcing immigration law.[4]

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Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 - Ballotpedia