Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

The Amnesty Effect: Evidence from the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act

Effects of Immigrant Legalization on Crime: the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act*

I examine the effects that the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), which legalized almost 3 million immigrants, had on crime in the United States. I exploit the IRCAs quasi-random timing as well as geographic variation in the intensity of treatment to isolate causal impacts. I find decreases in crime of 2%-6%, primarily due to decline in property crimes, equivalent to 80,000-240,000...

The "albatross" of immigration reform: temporary worker policy in the United States.

The author examines the history of U.S. labor and immigration policies, paying particular attention to the evolution of the temporary worker policy. Complications in the immigration reform process caused by efforts to admit more temporary workers are discussed. The position of the Reagan administration, Senate and House consideration of immigration and temporary worker bills, and the politica...

Employer Sanctions and the Question of Discrimination: The GAO Study in Perspective

The enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) produced the most extensive legislation in the area of employment law in the United States in two decades (i.e., since the adoption of the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970). Its provisions affect every employer and every job seeker since the law went into effect on November 6, 1986. Among its multiple provisions we...

How Much Does Amnesty Strengthen the Safety Net? Evidence from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986

We explore how immigrant legal status affects safety net transfers using variation from the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), which authorized the largest U.S. amnesty to date. Exploiting the timing and geographic unevenness in intensity of IRCA’s legalization programs, we estimate a sizable effect of permanent residency on Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) transfers. By contrast...