THE AMNESTY AFTERMATH - CURRENT POLICY ISSUES STEMMING FROM THE LEGALIZATION PROGRAMS OF THE 1986 IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT

The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) created two one-tim e only legalization programs affecting nearly 3 million undocumented i mmigrants. Legalization has produced important changes among immigrant s and in immigration policy. These changes include new patterns of imm igrant social and economic adaptation to the United States and new imm igrant flows through family ties to IRCA-legalized aliens. The heighte ned salience of immigration, produced in part by legalization, has als o generated a wave of ''backlash'' policymaking at the state and local levels in high-immigration sites. This article combines data from a l ongitudinal survey of the IRCA-legalized population with qualitative h eld data on current immigration issues from key informants in eight hi gh-immigration metropolitan areas. It reviews the political evolution and early implementation of legalization, the current socioeconomic po sition of legalized aliens, and changes in the immigration ''policy sp ace'' resulting from legalization. Although restrictive policies have again captured public attention, legalization has also sparked renewed efforts at immigration advocacy, particularly where immigrants who ad just to U.S. citizenship hold the potential for influencing local poli tics.