Timeline of immigration enforcement in the United States
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This page provides a timeline of key events related to immigration enforcement in the United States. The focus is on enforcement activities such as those carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
Big picture
| Time period | Key developments |
|---|---|
| Prior to the 1980s | There is very little systematic immigration enforcement, either at the border or in the interior. Immigration enforcement happens in waves, with large, one-off operations such as the Mexican repatriation and Operation Wetback. |
| 1981–2000 (picking up mostly after 1986) | The time period includes the Immigration and Reform Control Act of 1986 and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Immigration enforcement grows significantly in terms of budget and staff at the Immigration and Naturalization Services, as well as legislation and policy facilitating stronger enforcement. |
| 2001–2016 | Increases in resources, laws, and policies to facilitate stronger enforcement continue. The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, result in a disbanding of the INS and the creation of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security; functions of the INS are transferred to new sub-agencies of this department. |
| 2017 | The election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States could yield stronger immigration enforcement. |
Full timeline
| Year | Month and date (if available) | Event type | Affected agencies (past, and present equivalents) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | February 22 | Leadership change | Immigration and Naturalization Services | Alan C. Nelson becomes the Comissioner of the INS, working under Attorney General Edwin Meese and President Ronald Reagan.[1] |
| 1986 | November 6 | Legislation (landmark) | Immigration and Naturalization Services; current equivalent: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services | The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) is signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, after passing both houses of the 99th United States Congress after three years of legislative back-and-forth. The key sponsores are Alan K. Simpson and Romano L. Mazzoli, so the act is also known as the Simpson–Mazzoli Act. This combines an amnesty for people who have been present in the United States for a while, a restructuring of the H-2 program splitting it into the H-2A (unlimited temporary agricultural workers) and H-2B (other temporary workers), and more resources into enforcement.[2] |
| 1987 | October 21 | Deferred action | Alan C. Nelson, INS Commissioner announces Family Fairness, a deferred action policy for children (and, in rare cases, spouses) of people eligible to legalie per the IRCA, to solve the problem of split-eligibility families.[3] | |
| 1987 (approx) | ? | Benefits management | The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program gets started.[4][5] | |
| 1990 | February 5 | Deferred action | The Family Fairness policy is extended to spouses of IRCA-eligible people. The extension serves as a bridge to a legislation that is passed as part of the Immigration Act of 1990.[6][7] | |
| 1990 | ? | Landmark legislation | The Immigration Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H. W. Bush. While mostly focused on legal temporary and permanent immigration, some provisions of the Act are relevant to enforcement. In particular, the Family Unity Policy passed as part of the Act supersedes the Family Fairness executive action.[8][9] | |
| 1993 | October 18 | Leadership change | Doris Meissner becomes INS Commissioner.[10][11] | |
| 1996 | August 22 | Legislation (adjacent) | Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act is signed into law by President Bill Clinton after passing both chambers of the 104th United States Congress. Though not focused on migration, the legislation includes provisions restricting migrant access to the welfare state, and would lead to expansion in the use of SAVE. | |
| 1996 | September 30 | Legislation (landmark) | Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 is signed into law by President Bill Clinton after passing both chambers of the 104th United States Congress. It includes a number of provisions facilitating various forms of immigration enforcement that would be rolled out over the next two decades. | |
| 1997 | April | Policy rollout | Expedited removal begins to be applied gainst noncitizens seeking admission at designated ports of entry. Legal authority for expedited removal was present in the IIRIRA.[12][13] |
- ↑ "Alan C. Nelson: Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service, February 22, 1982 - June 16, 1989". United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. February 4, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- ↑ "Public Law 99-603" (PDF). United States Government Publishing Office. November 6, 1986. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ↑ "Reagan-Bush Family Fairness: A Chronological History". American Immigration Council. December 9, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
- ↑ Brown, June Gibbs (November 1, 1995). "Review of the SAVE System's Process" (PDF). Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
- ↑ "Spotlight on Surveillance, April 2007: SAVE System Can't Save Itself From 11-Year History of Inaccuracy, Unreliability". Electronic Privacy Information Center. April 1, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
- ↑ "Interpreter releases: report and analysis of immigration and nationality law" (PDF). February 5, 1990. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- ↑ Howe, Marvine. "New Policy Aids Families of Aliens". New York Times.
- ↑ Leiden, Warren. "Highlights of the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990". Fordham International Law Journal. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ↑ Stone, Stephanie. "1190 Immigration and Nationality Act". U.S. Immigration Legislation Online. U.S. Immigration Legislation Online. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Doris Meissner. Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization Service, October 18, 1993 - November 18, 2000". United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ↑ Ifill, Gwen (June 19, 1993). "President Chooses an Expert To Halt Smuggling of Aliens". New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- ↑ "DHS Announces Latest in Series of Expedited Removal Expansions. Entire U.S. Border Now Covered". National Immigration Law Center. March 23, 2006. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
- ↑ Mann, Juan (November 11, 2002). "INS Fact Sheet Expedited Removal". Retrieved July 19, 2015.
