History Of Immigration Standards in the US
Immigration was first considered to be a worker issue before 1940, and was handled under the Department of Labor. Through the 1950's to the 1980's not many laws were created or strictly enforced because the government viewed immigrants as a potential boost to the economy. They believed that these people could find a better life in America and would work hard. Thus, up to the Immigration Reform and Control Act, America generally allowed immigrants to come.
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They even allowed immigrants from countries such as Nicaruaga, Cuba, El Salvador and Guatemela to gain permanant residnat status with the the Nicaraguan Adjustment and Central American Relief Act in 1997. In 1998, the same was done for Haitians with the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act .
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Immigration Reform Act
The Immigration Reform and Control Act was signed into law on November 6, 1986. The purpose of this legislation was to amend, revise, and reform/re-assess the status of unauthorized immigrants set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act. It was sold as a crackdown: There would be tighter security at the Mexican border, and employers would face strict penalties for hiring undocumented workers.
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AmnestyThe bill also made any immigrant who had entered the country before 1982 eligible for amnesty . This bill gave unauthorized aliens the opportunity to gain legal status if they met mandated requirements and had been in the country for at least five years. The law granted amnesty to nearly 3 million illegal immigrants, and did nothing to address the future flow of immigrants, which increased dramatically during the next decade’s economic boom.
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Failure
The failure of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and the new path to amnesty for almost 3 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States led to an immigration flow as many relatives and family tried to join the legalized residents. Increasing repression, counterinsurgency wars combined with intervention by the U.S. created a stream of immigrants which further angered those against immigrants. This would lead to heightened anti-immigration measures. However, the perceived damage had already been done, and immigrants were flowing into the U.S.