Lately, I’ve been finding myself needing to look back on what laws were in place at a certain time and whether certain provisions were retroactive or could still be used, etc. This has mostly come up in the context of criminal matters, but I thought it might be beneficial to share a brief timeline of the major changes in the immigration laws in case anyone finds themselves in a similar situation, or for general knowledge (or being able to answer questions while watching Jeopardy!).
INA
- Immigration and Nationality Act
- Public Law 82-414
- Also known as the McCarran-Walter Act
- Pat McCarran (D-NV)
- Francis Walter (D-PA)
- Enacted June 27, 1952
- In effect since December 24, 1952
- What you should know:
- Strongly opposed by President Truman, who called it “un-American” and “discriminatory”
- Veto was overridden by Congress
- Maintained the national origin quota system (restricting eastern Europe, in response to anti-Communist sentiments)
- Created a categorized selection system within each national quota
- High education or exceptional abilities (50%)
- Specific relatives of U.S. citizens and LPRs (50%)
- Expanded U.S. nationality to include Guam, in addition to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
- Strongly opposed by President Truman, who called it “un-American” and “discriminatory”
- Also known as the McCarran-Walter Act
IRCA
- Immigration Reform and Control Act
- Public Law 99-603
- Also known as the Simpson-Mazzoli Act
- Romano Mazzoli (D-KY)
- Alan Simpson (R-WY)
- Enacted November 6, 1986
- What you should know:
- Signed into law by President Reagan
- Revisions regarding illegal immigration had been considered since the early 1970s
- Implemented sanctions for employers who knowingly hired persons unauthorized to work in the U.S.
- Amnesty was granted to about 3.2 million immigrants living in the U.S.
- Established a legalization program for eligible persons in the U.S. prior to 1982
- Created special agricultural worker program
- Provided labor protections
IMMACT90
- Immigration Act of 1990
- Public Law 101-649
- First introduced by Sen. Ted Kennedy
- Enacted November 29, 1990
- What you should know:
- Signed into law by President Bush
- Shifted focus to legal immigration due to concerns about the preference system and visa backlogs
- Created preference systems for family, employment, and diversity
- Employment-based: increased from 54,000 to 140,000
- Capped H-1B visas
- Created the O and P visa categories
- Permanent provision for diversity immigrants (lottery)
o Introduced temporary protected status (TPS), providing the first such status to El Salvador
o Granted to a temporary stay/work authorization to immediate relatives of people granted legalization through IRCA
o Eliminated exclusion (inadmissibility) based on homosexuality and AIDS
IIRIRA
- Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
- Public Law 104-208
- Enacted September 30, 1996
- What you should know:
- Signed into law by President Clinton
- Borne out of recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform
- Adopted stronger penalties against unauthorized entry
- Introduced the 3 and 10-year bars for unauthorized presence
- Streamlined deportation proceedings by limiting the appeals process
- “Deportation” proceedings became “Removal” proceedings
- Suspension of deportation was eliminated; replaced by Cancellation of Removal
- Restricted the use of public welfare benefits for new immigrants
- Expanded the definition of aggravated felony and applied retroactively
For more information, check out FAIR (fairus.org/facts/us_laws)