Key Immigration Laws and Policy Developments Since 1986
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Highlights
Since enactment of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, U.S. immigration enforcement has expanded steadily while comprehensive reform has repeatedly stalled in Congress.
- The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) created employer sanctions and legalized roughly 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants, while launching the H-2A guest worker program.
- The 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) and Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) expanded deportation grounds, mandatory detention, expedited removal, and restrictions on immigrant access to public benefits.
- Post-9/11 legislation created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with three new immigration agencies and expanded terrorism-related grounds for inadmissibility.
- By 2013, Secure Communities, E-Verify, and Operation Streamline were embedded nationwide, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) offered limited relief—even as comprehensive reform of the immigration system remained unmet.
This timeline examines and explains the key immigration laws that have shaped U.S. immigration policy in the decades since the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which combined a series of measures aimed at reducing the flow of unauthorized immigration to the United States with a legalization program for certain unauthorized immigrants.
The timeline extends through 2013, a period during which the U.S. Congress and executive branch were once again debating major reform of the U.S. immigration system.
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About the U.S. Immigration Policy Program
The U.S. Immigration Policy Program provides analysis of U.S. immigration pathways, the impacts of enforcement and other policies, and the characteristics of immigrant populations.
