The role of identity documents and immigration reform in the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton administrations

The cu1rent estimate of illegal aliens in the United States is twelve to twenty million. Despite numerous immigration reform laws enacted in the last three decades to address this dilemma, the numbers continue to rise instead of decrease. Although the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 made it unlawful to hire illegal aliens, jobs have remained readily available to this population. Employers are mandated to follow a verification process of checking every new employee 's identification that asserts citizenship or alien status with authorization to work. One weakness in the employers sanction provision is that accurate verification of documents is not required as long as the employer "complied in good faith" that they appear to be authentic. This has led to a rampant rise in counterfeit documents that helps bypass the employee verification process. This study focuses on the role and importance of identity documents and immigration reform during the Reagan, Bush, and Clinton Administrations. Also explored are the positions of agencies responsible for issuing identity documents and the succession of legislative pilot projects aimed to improve on identification and verification systems. Congressional hearings, reports, internal administration memos, and other primary materials are used to examine the persistent challenges and the slow progression towards enacting genuine change to resolutely deal with illegal immigration.