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1986   Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA)• Ronald Reagan • Granted amnesty to roughly 3 million illegal aliens who were

able to prove continuous residence in the United States since January 1,1982.

• Raised the annual immigration ceiling to 540,000• Required employers to verify immigration status of workers

hired. • H-2 temporary worker program split between H-2A

(agriculture) and H-2B (nonagricultural) workers.

Tightening Border Control—1990s

• Prevent Illegal Immigration Through Deterrence:

• Operation Blockade

• Operation Hold the Line

• Operation Gatekeeper

Immigration Act of 1990 • The annual immigration ceiling was further raised to 700,000

for 1992, 1993,and 1994.

• Following 1994, the ceiling would drop to 675,000 a year.

• Ten thousand permanent resident visas were offered to those immigrants agreeing to invest at least $1 million in U.S. urban areas or $500,000 in U.S. rural areas.

• The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 was amended so that people can no longer be denied admittance to the United States on the basis of their beliefs, statements, or associations.

Immigration Acts of 1996• A busy year for immigration reform, stemming primarily from fears

from the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

• Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

• Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRAIRA)

• Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act

9/11 and The USA Patriot Act• 9/11 attack on the WTC created widespread national security fears• Increase in restrictive immigration policy

• The Patriot Act-2001

• Homeland Security Act-2002

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement Created-2003

• Operation Endgame-2004

• In 2005, a Homeland Security Spending Bill increased funds for immigration law enforcement to $10 billion.

• New ICE Strategy Introduced-2008

Attempts at Comprehensive Immigration Reform

• Secure America and Orderly Immigration Bill-2005

• Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill-2006

• Immigration Bill-2007

Challenges Facing Comprehensive Immigration Reform

• Reframing the issue from immigration to an issue of border protection

• 9/11- Increasingly restrictive policy• Linking immigration with terrorism• Weakens any attempt at comprehensive immigration

reform, including the DREAM Act

Public Education and Undocumented Immigrants• 1982 Plyler v. Doe• Education access from kindergarten through twelfth

grade• Supreme Court addressed issue of denying free public

education to illegal students• Texas• Some school district denying illegal students access

to education• Others charged a fee to attend school

• Violated Equal Protection Clause of Fourteenth Amendment

Public Education and Undocumented Immigrants • Higher Education• Immigration Act of 1996• Requires educational institutions to provide the Immigration and

Naturalization Service information on foreign students• Regardless of length of residency, unable to receive in-state

tuition• Diminished access to higher education for young immigrants

Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act

• DREAM Act• “The DREAM Act does not grant citizenship.

Rather, it provides a pathway to earn one’s citizenship.” –Paul Ortiz, Director of UF’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program

• National Immigrant Law Center estimates 50,000- 65,000 undocumented students graduate U.S. high schools each year

The DREAMers• Played no role in their illegal arrival in the U.S.• In general- brought to the United States as young children, speak

English, consider themselves Americans, and will live the rest of their lives in this country

• http://www.thedreamiscoming.com/media/dc-dreamers

Consistent Terms of the DREAM Act

• Provides a route to naturalization for certain illegal and deportable individuals who:• Arrived in the US illegally prior to age 16• Have been in the country continuously for at least five years prior to

the bill's enactment• Have been a person of good moral character• Has been admitted to an institution of higher education in the US or

has attained a high school diploma or GED• Satisfying these conditions would allow the individual temporary

residency for a period of time during which they must:• Acquire a degree from an institution of higher education in the United

States or complete at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the United States

• An individual may apply for permanent residence after the conditional period

The DREAM Act continued• Initial Version introduced on August 1st, 2001:• Main Goals:

• “To amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien college-bound students who are long-term United States residents.”

• Allows for Conditional Permanent Residence Status

• Eventual opportunity to remove the conditional status and become a naturalized citizen

Changes to the DREAM Act continued…• A later version introduced on July 31st, 2003

• Major Changes Introduced:

• Establishes that an individual must have been under 16 on the date of their entry to the US

• Establishes a period of 6 years for the conditional permanent residence status

• Establishes terms for the termination of the conditional permanent resident status

• Those who served at least two years in the Armed Forces are eligible for petition status

Changes continued• Version introduced on March 6th, 2007:• Major Changes Introduced:

• Establishes terms of higher education assistance

• Version introduced on March 26, 2009:• Major Changes:

• Establishes 35 as the maximum age of applicants at the time the act is enacted.

Latest Version of DREAM Act

• December 1st, 2010• Major Changes:• Increases the period of conditional nonimmigrant status from 6 years

to 10 years.• Prevents individuals from benefitting from a broad range of public

benefits, including the recent health care reform.• Does not repeal the federal law limiting how states can provide in-

state tuition to undocumented immigrants. • Applicants must be younger than 30 on the date of the DREAM Act’s

enactment.• Vocational institutions included under “institution of higher learning.”• Applicants must show good moral character since the time they

entered the U.S. (rather than since the time of application).• Makes applicants subject to more grounds of inadmissibility,

deportability, and other restrictions.

Opposition to the DREAM Act• Belief that the act rewards illegal activity • Would encourage continued illegal immigration

• View of The DREAM Act as amnesty• Fear that it would take education spots away from American

students and make it more difficult for them to obtain tuition assistance• Addition of stipulations in bill about the types of aid they can

receive during conditional status• “I think that it must be part of an overall comprehensive

solution to immigration once we have the border secured, and not until then.”

--Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb.

References• "Bill Summary & Status - 108th Congress (2003 - 2004) - S.1545." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web.

16 Feb. 2011. <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d108:S1545:>.• "Bill Summary & Status - 107th Congress (2001 - 2002) - S.1291." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web.

16 Feb. 2011. <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:S1291:>.• "Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010)." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c111:./temp/~c1114NT75k>.• "Bill Text - 111th Congress (2009-2010)." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c111:./temp/~c111Q7Pjj7>.• "Bill Text - 110th Congress (2007-2008)." THOMAS (Library of Congress). Web. 16 Feb. 2011.

<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.774:>.• Bruno, Andora, Garcia Michael, and Karma Ester. Congressional Research Service. Immigration

Legislation and Issues in the 109th Congress. , 1995. Web. 20 Feb 2011• History of U.S. Immigration Laws. "FAIR: History of US Immigration Laws and Policies." FAIR: Federation for American

Immigration Reform. 21 Feb. 2011 <http://www.fairus.org/site/PageNavigator/facts/research_us_laws/>.• Galassi, Jennifer. “Dare to Dream? A Review of the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act.”

24 Chicano-Latino L. Rev. 79 (2003) • "Mexico: Crimes at the Border." Frontline World Stories (2010): n.pag. Web. 20 Feb 2011.

<http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/mexico704/history/timeline.html>• National Immigration Law Center. "DREAM | Immigrant Student Adjustment." NILC Home. Web. 19 Feb. 2011.

<http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/dream/index.htm>.• Shapiro, Robert, and Jiwon Vellucci. "The Impact of Immigration and Immigration Reform on the Wages

of American Workers." New Policy Institute (2010): n. pag. Web. 20 Feb 2011• "Reid Angers GOP by Pushing Four Versions of DREAM Act Without Hearing - FoxNews.com." FoxNews.com - Breaking

News | Latest News | Current News. 01 Dec. 2010. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/12/01/reid-angers-gop-pushing-versions-dream-act-hearing/>.

• The Dream Is Coming. "DREAM 21 (DC) « The Dream Is Coming…." Web. 19 Feb. 2011. <http://www.thedreamiscoming.com/media/dc-dreamers>.