| Introduction xx communism but also people needing entrée due to political or other persecution. The Act introduced the „right of asylum, and created a new legal category of refu- gee, an Âasylee,Ê especially in regard to political asylum, even for political refu- gees already in the United States. It increased the refugee numbers that could be admitted and provided for possible special emergency cases. Refugees could be- come legal resident aliens after one rather than two years, which meant that their road to citizenship was set and family members would soon be eligible for admit- tance (Daniels 1990 Reimers 1992). The Refugee ActÊs importance was that it set the stage for Haitians and others fleeing poverty and oppression to eventually be admitted as easily as Cubans escaping communism. But this change did not come until later, and meanwhile these so-called economic refugees had great difficulty entering the United States legally through the 1980s. Americans felt growing concern with immigration and refugee policies in the 1980s and after, as it appeared to many that our borders were porous. The problem was not in border control, but rather the same push-pull factors that drew earlier migrants. Poverty, the need of jobs, the desire to seek economic opportunity, and freedom from oppressive governments pushed and pulled immigrants to America seeking a better life. They would come legally or illegally. Some overstayed tour- ist or student visas others crossed mainly the southern border but also that in the north. Jobs were available in agriculture, in the garment industry, in poultry pro- duction, in hotel work and other service industries and employment even with harsh conditions and low wages still offered more opportunity than in the sending countries (Barkan 1996). Trying to secure some control over the immigrant numbers and deal with the need for agricultural laborers, Congress thought it had an answer in the Immigra- tion Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). The act created an amnesty program that allowed undocumented aliens who had taken up residence in the United States before January 1, 1982, and stayed in the country since that time to be legitimized. Almost three million individuals secured permanent status as a result of this legis- lation (Barkan 1996). Temporary agricultural workers could also secure amnesty if they had labored for at least 90 days from May 1985 to May 1986. They would be designated as temporary aliens and could then become permanent resident aliens. The ActÊs intent was to satisfy both the public in regard to hopefully solving the il- legal immigrant issue, and the growers who needed this labor. This provision was particularly controversial because it did not stop the undocumented flow but merely served to legitimize those already in the United States. The arbitrary date could also divide families by allowing for the deportation of some family members and thereby creating an unfair situation (Reimers 1992). Amnesty remains a conten- tious issue into the present time. Employer sanctions were the other main IRCA issue. In an effort to force em- ployers to discontinue the hiring of undocumented aliens, fines and jail time could
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