Immigrants And The Refugee Act Of 1980

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The Refugee Act of 1980 put into place policies for refugees. It would redefine what a "refugee" was to agree with the United Nations norms. An objective for around 50 thousand for refugee immigrants was set around 50,000 while worldwide immigrant quota was reduced to 270,000 annually. Six years later the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) was passed. This Act created penalties for employers who, knowing hired illegal immigrants. These penalties were rarely enforced and forged documents were rampant allowing for prevalent undocumented immigrant employment. The spike in immigration during this year, see figure 2, was caused by IRCA when it pardons about 3 million illegal immigrants, but it would also mandate the intensification of some