Reagan signs the Immigration Reform and Control Act, making it a federal crime to hire undocumented workers

President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), the most comprehensive overhaul of U.S. immigration law since 1965. The law made it a federal offense for employers to knowingly hire undocumented workers, establishing financial penalties and requiring employers to verify work authorization through a new I-9 process. IRCA also granted legal status to approximately 2.7 million undocumented immigrants who had lived continuously in the United States since before January 1, 1982. By centralizing immigration enforcement authority in the federal government and preempting state employer-sanction laws, IRCA reinforced the principle that immigration policy belongs primarily to Congress and federal agencies.