The data analyzed in IPC's latest Special Report, Economic Progress via Legalization, indicates that unauthorized immigrants who gained legal status in the 1980s through the legalization provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) experienced clear improvement in their socioeconomic situation. Between 1990 and 2006, the educational attainment of IRCA immigrants increased substantially, their poverty rates fell dramatically, and their home ownership rates improved tremendously.
We can expect every major piece of comprehensive reform legislation to tackle the issue of creating a legal status for the 11- 12 million undocumented immigrants residing in the United States. Most politicians and policy makers agree that practically, the U.S. cannot deport this population, and some kind of process for legalizing status is necessary. IPC's latest Fact Check, Earned Legalization: Repairing our Broken Immigration System, examines how a successful legalization program would benefit the nation and takes a closer look at key principles that should be considered when devising a legalization program.
In “Breaking Down the Problems, What’s Wrong with Our Immigration System?” the Immigration Policy Center laid out key structural problems WITHIN immigration law, as well as the inadequate, enforcement-only responses that have given rise to our current immigration crisis. Genuine immigration reform requires a thoughtful, coordinated approach that restores balance to the process, giving America the tools it needs to remain a leader in a rapidly changing world.