Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

Acronyms (colloquial)	IRCA
Nicknames	Simpson–Mazzoli Act
Enacted by	the 99th United States Congress
Effective	Signed into law by Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986
Citations
Public law	Pub.L. 99–603
Statutes at Large	100 Stat. 3359
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 1200 by Alan K. Simpson on May 23, 1985 Committee consideration by Senate Judiciary, Senate Budget Passed the Senate on September 19, 1985 (69–30) Passed the House on October 9, 1986 (voice vote after incorporating H.R. 3810, passed 230–166) Reported by the joint conference committee on October 14, 1986; agreed to by the House on October 15, 1986 (238–173) and by the Senate on October 17, 1986 (63–24) Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), Pub.L. 99–603, 100 Stat. 3445, enacted November 6, 1986, also known as the Simpson–Mazzoli Act, signed into law by Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986, is an Act of Congress which reformed United States immigration law. The Act

At the time, the Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated that about four million illegal immigrants would apply for legal status through the act and that roughly half of them would be eligible.

Romano L. Mazzoli was a Democratic representative from Kentucky and Alan K. Simpson was a Republican senator from Wyoming who chaired their respective immigration subcommittees in Congress. Their effort was assisted by the recommendations of the bipartisan Commission on Immigration Reform, chaired by Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, then President of the University of Notre Dame.

The law criminalized the act of engaging in a "pattern or practice" of knowingly hiring an "unauthorized alien" and established financial and other penalties for those employing illegal immigrants under the theory that low prospects for employment would reduce undocumented immigration. Regulations promulgated under the Act introduced the I-9 form to ensure that all employees presented documentary proof of their legal eligibility to accept employment in the United States.

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