IMPLEMENTING THE UNITED-STATES LEGALIZATION PROGRAM - THE INFLUENCE OF IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL AGENCIES ON IMMIGRATION POLICY REFORM

The legalization program of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Ac t was influenced by the behaviors of three local actors in the impleme ntation process: immigrant communities, community-based organizations, and INS officials. The results of two longitudinal field studies in a southwestern city suggest that local interpretations of legalization affected program outcomes by expanding the scope of the program beyond the participation rate projected by national policy-makers. We also f ind that legalization leads to social changes within the immigrant com munity-the most important being the strengthening of social ties betwe en the home community and the U.S. community.