Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
Encyclopedia
The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Division C of (often referred to as "i-RAI-ruh" by federal appellate law clerks, and sometimes abbreviated as "IIRAIRA" or "IIRIRA") vastly changed the immigration laws of the United States
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This act states that if an immigrant has been unlawfully present in the United States for 180 days but less than 365 days he or she must remain outside the United States for three years unless the person obtains a pardon. If the person has been in the United States for 365 days or more, he or she must stay outside the United States for ten years unless he or she obtains a waiver. If the person returns to the United States without the pardon, the person cannot apply for a waiver for a period of ten years.
, may make an individual eligible for deportation. When IIRIRA was passed in 1996, it was applied retroactively to all those convicted of deportable offenses.
However, in 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Congress did not intend IIRIRA to be applied retroactively to those who pleaded guilty to a crime prior to the enactment of IIRIRA, if that person would not have been deportable at the time that he pleaded guilty. (INS v. St. Cyr)
IIRIRA's mandatory detention provisions have also been repeatedly challenged, with less success.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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This act states that if an immigrant has been unlawfully present in the United States for 180 days but less than 365 days he or she must remain outside the United States for three years unless the person obtains a pardon. If the person has been in the United States for 365 days or more, he or she must stay outside the United States for ten years unless he or she obtains a waiver. If the person returns to the United States without the pardon, the person cannot apply for a waiver for a period of ten years.
Constitutional issues within the law
Previously, immediate deportation was triggered only for offenses that could lead to five years or more in jail. Under the Act, minor offenses such as shopliftingShoplifting
Shoplifting is theft of goods from a retail establishment. It is one of the most common property crimes dealt with by police and courts....
, may make an individual eligible for deportation. When IIRIRA was passed in 1996, it was applied retroactively to all those convicted of deportable offenses.
However, in 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that Congress did not intend IIRIRA to be applied retroactively to those who pleaded guilty to a crime prior to the enactment of IIRIRA, if that person would not have been deportable at the time that he pleaded guilty. (INS v. St. Cyr)
IIRIRA's mandatory detention provisions have also been repeatedly challenged, with less success.
Deportation issues
Deportees may be held in jail for months, even as much as two years, before being brought before an immigration board, at which defendants need to pay for their own legal representation. In 2001, the Supreme Court curtailed the Immigration Service's ability to hold deportees indefinitely. (Zadvydas v. Davis)- The Act has been applied much more vigorously since 9/11. At least 1000 British citizens were affected by the law in 2003.
Section 287(g) and relations between federal and lower levels of government
IIRIRA addressed the relationship between the federal government and local governments. Section 287(g) is a program of the act that permits the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions, pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement. This section does not simply deputize state and local law enforcement personnel to enforce immigration matters. This provision was implemented by local and state authorities in five states, California, Arizona, Alabama, Florida and North Carolina by the end of 2006.See also
- Gallegly amendmentGallegly amendmentThe Gallegly amendment was introduced by Representative Elton Gallegly to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act in 1996. Its purpose was to allow states to deny public education or charge tuition to illegal alien children in the United States, thereby overturning the...
, a rejected amendment to this bill - Cambodian American RepatriationCambodian American RepatriationDeportation of Cambodian Americans typically refers to the forced repatriation to Cambodia of convicted Cambodian American criminals who lack United States citizenship.- Legal background :...
- DREAM ActDREAM ActThe DREAM Act is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001 and most recently reintroduced there on May 11, 2011....
- Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity ActPersonal Responsibility and Work Opportunity ActThe Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 is a United States federal law considered to be a fundamental shift in both the method and goal of federal cash assistance to the poor. The bill added a workforce development component to welfare legislation, encouraging...
External links
- Text of IIRIRA (See pg. 547 in this document).
- USCIS Factsheet, March 1997
- INS v. St. Cyr
- Zadvydas v. Davis
- USCIS Summary of the Act