In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which granted amnesty (a path to legal status) to about 3 million undocumented immigrants who had entered the U.S. before January 1, 1982 and met certain requirements.
Eligibility: Continuous residence in the U.S. since before Jan. 1, 1982.
Requirements: Pay a $185 fine, pay back taxes, demonstrate good moral character, and learn English.
Roughly 2.7–3 million people received legal permanent residency (green cards); most were of Hispanic descent.
Reagan’s own words: He explicitly called it “amnesty” and said in a 1984 debate: “I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally”.
Compare that to the hate, xenophobic rhetoric of today.
Today it is not just illegals we are trying to keep out, but immigrants from all over the world by making entry and residency more difficult.
That may make nativists happy, but it is not in the best interest of the United States. It’s not making America “great.”
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
And, of course, you skipped the reason why Reagan agreed to that action – enforcement of our immigration laws.
From AI:
The Simpson-Mazzoli Act, officially known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986, aimed to control unauthorized immigration by penalizing employers who hire undocumented workers while simultaneously granting legal status to millions of immigrants already residing in the U.S.
Employer Sanctions: The law made it illegal for employers to knowingly hire, recruit, or refer undocumented immigrants. It established the I-9 verification system, requiring employers to check and document the work authorization of all new hires. Violators face civil and criminal penalties.
Legalization (Amnesty): It offered legal status and a pathway to lawful permanent residence (and eventually citizenship) to unauthorized immigrants who could prove they had continuously resided in the United States in an unlawful status since before January 1, 1982.
Agricultural Worker Programs: A specialized legalization program was created for certain seasonal agricultural workers (SAWs) who could prove they had worked in perishable crop fields for at least 90 days prior to May 1986.
Approximately three million undocumented immigrants successfully regularized their status under the legalization provisions of the Act.
Critics and historians note that while the amnesty portion was highly effective, the employer sanctions were inconsistently enforced, meaning the law did not halt unauthorized immigration.
BenefitJack Observations: Talk about an understatement!!!!!!!
Perhaps Trump should aggressively enforce Simpson Mazzoli’s provisions, as signed into law by President Reagan. That would require ICE/Homeland Security to find and deport all who came to America on or after January 1, 1982, and pursue widespread civil and criminal prosecution of each and every employer who knew, or should have known, that they hired an illegal alien after May 1986.
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Does it matter?
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It matters just as much as the grant of amnesty, yes.
Why would anyone grant amnesty to those who violated our immigration laws after 1986 given Congress’ / various Administration’s failure to enforce our laws?
The casualty here is LEGAL immigration! We need LEGAL immigrants! We need sharp people to come to America, attend institutions of higher learning, and STAY if they want to become Americans. As the son of a legal immigrant, it is no surprise to me that LEGAL immigrants are less likely to commit crimes, more likely to be employed, less likely to be on welfare.
Wasn’t it the Obama Administration who challenged the State of Arizona’s law SB 1070, and prevailed at the Supreme Court, demanding that immigration enforcement was solely the responsibility of the federal government – then failing to truly enforce our immigration laws and deport undocumented/illegal aliens?
if so, why are Democrats, such as the New Jersey Governor, messing with immigration officials this week? Why are there state and city sanctuary cities?
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