Implementing the U.S. Legalization Program: The Influence of Immigrant Communities and Local Agencies on Immigration Policy Reform

Abstract

The legalization program of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was influenced by the behaviors of three local actors in the implementation process: immigrant communities, community-based organizations, and INS officials. The results of two longitudinal field studies in a southwestern city suggest that local interpretations of legalization affected program outcomes by expanding the scope of the program beyond the participation rate projected by national policymakers. We also find that legalization leads to social changes within the immigrant community—the most important being the strengthening of social ties between the home community and the U.S. community.

U.S. Migration from Latin America: Gendered Patterns and Shifts

“…The amnesty provisions of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) gave legal status mostly to men because they were more likely than women to have documents proving formal employment and long-term residence (Hagan and Baker 1993). However, the newly legalized migrants sponsored the entry of women relatives both with and without documents.…”

Becoming a Citizen in the United States and Canada: Structured Mobilization and Immigrant Political Incorporation

“…Students of immigration document the importante of intra-ethnic ties, and the social capital that results, for migration (Massey 1990;Palloni et al 2001), educational outcomes (Zhou and Bankston III 1998;Portes 1995) and success in the labor market (Aguilera and Massey 2003;Sanders, Nee and Sernau 2002). When migrants need to interact with legal systems and government bureaucracies, dense interpersonal ties facilitate the diffusion of information about legalization programs (Hagan and Baker 1993) and provide assistance with naturalization applications (Alvarez 1987;Bloemraad 2006).…”

La migración de la población adolescente de San Mateo Ozolco, Puebla.

“…La teoría institucional (Hagan y González, 1993;Goss y Lindquist, 1995) señala que cuando se ha establecido la migración internacional surgen instituciones para satisfacer las demandas creadas por el desbalance entre la multitud que pretende ingresar a los países ricos en capital y el limitado número de visas que se ofrecen.…”

“…The institutional theory (Hagan and González, 1993;Goss and Lindquist, 1995) states that when international migration has been established, there are institutions that arise to satisfy the demands created by the imbalance between the multitude that attempts to enter the countries rich in capital and the limited number of visas offered.…”