The Simpson-Mazzoli Act Was a Big Lie

How many times are we going to be duped by the federal government? Back in 1986, the Simpson-Mazzoli Act was supposed to take care of our illegal immigration problem. Americans were promised that this landmark legislation would be the cure-all, and that the citizens of this country would no longer be pestered by a third-world invasion. We were duped. Here is a brief summary of the Big Lie:

The Immigration Reform and Control Act was passed and signed into law on November 6, 1986. The purpose of this legislation was to amend, revise, and reform/re-assess the status of unauthorized immigrants set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The content of this bill is overwhelming and is divided into many sections such as control of unauthorized immigration, legalization and reform of legal immigration. The focus of this précis will be on the legalization aspect of the bill.

This bill gave unauthorized aliens the opportunity to apply and gain legal status if they met mandated requirements. The fate or status of all those who applied fell into the hands of “Designated Entities” and finally the U.S. Attorney General. Applicants had to prove that they lived and maintained a continuous physical presence in the U.S. since January 1st, 1982, possess a clean criminal record, and provide proof of registration within the Selective Service. Moreover, applicants had to meet minimal knowledge requirements in U.S. history, government and the English language or be pursuing a course of study approved by the Attorney General.

This bill also outlined previsions for temporary residents’ travel, employment, false statements, numerical limitations, adjustments for status and treatment of applications by “Designated Entities”. Furthermore, after an applicant was assigned a legal status or deemed a temporary lawful resident, they were disqualified from receiving all forms of public welfare assistance for five years. The rules for applications and welfare assistance did not apply to Cuban or Haitian immigrants.

As soon as the Simpson-Mazzoli Act was passed, special interest groups were busy undermining the law. Here is a video by the National Immigration Law Center bragging about their activities:

The National Immigration Law Center believes illegal aliens are entitled to the same rights, privileges and benefits as an American citizen. A nation state is irrelevant to these people.

Simpson-Mazzoli should be a lesson to all of us. As long as we allow the federal courts to run roughshod over the states and local communities, we will continue to have an illegal alien problem.


Source:
http://library.uwb.edu/guides/usimmigration/1986_immigration_reform_and_control_act.html