Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA or IIRAIRA), Division C of Pub.L. 104–208 (text) (PDF), 110 Stat. 3009-546, enacted September 30, 1996, made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which the bill's proponents argued was mainly to counter the rapidly-growing undocumented immigrant population, and also to protect the legal immigrants and citizens of the United States.[2] "These IIRIRA changes became effective on April 1, 1997."[1]

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
Other short titlesIIRIRA
Long titleAn Act making omnibus consolidated appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)i-RAI-ruh
NicknamesOmnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997
Enacted bythe 104th United States Congress
EffectiveApril 1, 1997[1]
Citations
Public lawPub.L. 104–208 (text) (PDF)
Statutes at Large110 Stat. 3009-546
Codification
Acts amendedAntiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996
Immigration and Nationality Technical Corrections Act of 1994
Immigration Act of 1990
Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988
Titles amended8 U.S.C.: Aliens and Nationality
U.S.C. sections amended
Legislative history
United States Supreme Court cases
List

In the IIRIRA, the U.S. Congress sufficiently protected all nationals of the United States (Americans) from deportation.[3][4][5][6] This important lifetime protection for Americans did not exist in the INA prior to 1996. At the same time, Congress expressly permitted the historical waiver of inadmissibility for stateless refugees and other legal immigrants.[7][8]

To drop the rate of crime in the United States, Congress tremendously expanded the definition of the term "aggravated felony" by entailing a great many more common criminal convictions "for which the term of imprisonment was completed within the previous 15 years."[9] Every "illegal alien" convicted of any aggravated felony is to be placed in an expedited removal proceeding.[10]

U.S. President Bill Clinton stated that the legislation strengthened "the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the criminal justice system — without punishing those living in the United States legally." Some critics have argued that it punished U.S. citizens and noncitizens of all statuses "by eliminating due process from the overwhelming majority of removal cases and curtailing equitable relief from removal."[11]

Among other changes, IIRIRA gave the United States Attorney General broad authority to construct barriers along the Mexico–United States border, and it authorized the construction of a secondary layer of border fencing to support the already-completed 14-mile primary fence. Construction of the secondary fence stalled because of environmental concerns raised by the California Coastal Commission.

Higher education restrictions

Upon passage of this law, states were restricted from offering in-state tuition at public institutions to students who were not legally in the country.[12] Specifically, if a state allows undocumented immigrant students to be eligible for in-state tuition, then residents from other states must also be eligible for in-state tuition. Several states have passed tuition-equality laws by allowing anyone regardless of legal status to apply for in-state tuition if they meet the state's eligibility requirements.[13]

Voting
Further information: Child Citizenship Act of 2000

IIRIRA made it a criminal offense for a noncitizen to vote in a federal election.[14] This, however, does not apply to those who have resided in the United States as non-citizen U.S. nationals or permanent residents while they were under the age of 16 years, and both of their parents are U.S. citizens.[15]

Impact

A 2018 paper found that the Act reduced the health and mental health outcomes of Latin-American undocumented immigrants in the United States by escalating their fear that they would be deported.[16]

See also

Notes and references

This article in most part is based on law of the United States, including statutory and latest published case law.

  1. "Othi v. Holder, 734 F.3d 259". Fourth Circuit. Harvard Law School. October 29, 2013. p. 265.
  2. "Presidential Documents: Anti-Discrimination" (PDF). Federal Register, Vol. 60, No. 28. U.S. Government Publishing Office. February 10, 1995. p. 7888. Retrieved 2021-11-12. Our efforts to combat illegal immigration must not violate the privacy and civil rights of legal immigrants and U.S. citizens. Therefore, I direct the Attorney General... and other relevant Administration officials to vigorously protect our citizens and legal immigrants from immigration-related instances of discrimination and harassment....
  3. 8 U.S.C. § 1252(b)(5)
  4. "U.S. citizen mistakenly put in deportation proceedings finally returns to America". NBC News. February 4, 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  5. "Cambodian refugee who advocates say was wrongly deported returns to U.S." NBC News. February 28, 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  6. "First Cambodian to return after deportation inspires others after gaining U.S. citizenship". NBC News. July 16, 2020. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  7. "Matter of N-V-G-, 28 I&N Dec. 380". Board of Immigration Appeals. U.S. Dept. of Justice. September 17, 2021. A person who enters the United States as a refugee and later adjusts in the United States to lawful permanent resident status is not precluded from establishing eligibility for a waiver of inadmissibility under section 212(h) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h) (2018), based on a conviction for an aggravated felony, because he or she has not 'previously been admitted to the United States as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence' under that provision.
  8. "Matter of C-A-S-D-, 27 I&N Dec. 692". Board of Immigration Appeals. U.S. Dept. of Justice. November 1, 2019. p. 694. Section 209(c) of the Act provides that the Attorney General may waive certain criminal grounds of inadmissibility under section 212(a) of the Act 'with respect to such an alien for humanitarian purposes, to assure family unity, or when it is otherwise in the public interest.' (emphasis added)
    • "Matter of H-N-, 22 I&N Dec. 1039" (PDF). Board of Immigration Appeals. U.S. Dept. of Justice. October 13, 1999. p. 1040. Pursuant to section 209 of the Act, an alien admitted into the United States as a refugee under section 207 of the Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1157 (1994 & Supp. II 1996), may have his or her status adjusted to that of a lawful permanent resident. In making such a determination, it is clear from the statute that the Attorney General has the power to grant a waiver of inadmissibility to an alien who may be inadmissible. (emphases added)
  9. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)
  10. 8 U.S.C. § 1365(b) ("An illegal alien ... is any alien ... who is in the United States unlawfully....")
  11. Kerwin, Donald (2018). "From IIRIRA to Trump: Connecting the Dots to the Current U.S. Immigration Policy Crisis". Journal on Migration and Human Security. https://doi.org/10.1177/2331502418786718: Center for Migration Studies. 6 (3): 192–204. doi:10.1177/2331502418786718. {{cite journal}}: External link in |location= (help)CS1 maint: location (link)
  12. Pérez, Zenen Jaimes (2014). Removing Barriers to Higher Education for Undocumented Students (PDF). Center for American Progress.
  13. Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Public Law 104-208, 104th Cong. 1st sess. (September 30, 1996).
  14. 18 U.S.C. § 611
  15. "Child Citizenship Act of 2000 ('CCA'), Pub. L. No. 106-395, 114 Stat. 1631 (2000)" (PDF). U.S. Congress. October 30, 2000. pp. 1633–36.
  16. Wang, Julia Shu-Huah; Kaushal, Neeraj (April 2018). "Health and Mental Health Effects of Local Immigration Enforcement". NBER Working Paper No. 24487. doi:10.3386/w24487.

Further reading
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