jan 2, 1986 - Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)

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This act consisted of two main components. It granted amnesty to illegal immigrants who had been in the country since January 1,1982. This granted roughly three million illegal immigrants amnesty and also prompted them with the ability to eventually become citizens. This made the act the first large-scale legalization program in U.S history. The bill also established penalties for employers who hired unauthorized immigrants. This created a change in immigration policy towards employer responsibility rather than on government responsibility in fueling illegal immigration. As always along with these changes came more enforcement through the creation of a hundred INS offices to enforce immigration laws.

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