Immigration and Agriculture in the 1990s

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (!RCA) contained provisions having the intent of changing the supply and demand for labor in the United States and alleviating many social problems associated with earlier illegal immigration. Many of the proponents of IRCA were optimistic in the mid-1980s about how IRCA would slow illegal immigration. Issues of fairness to workers had been addressed by legalizing individuals who had a history of working as undocumented workers in U.S. agriculture and the rest of the economy; needs for a short-term guaranteed supply of seasonal agricultural service workers to agriculture had been taken care of in new SAW (Special Agricultural Worker) and RAW (Replenishment Agricultural Worker) programs; penalties for U.S. employers who hired undocumented workers were imposed; and the INS was supposed to tighten border controls and greatly reduce illegal immigration rates. In the mid-1980s, some believed that IRCA would permanently solve the problems associated with illegal immigration to the United States.