The immigration laws, passed in the twentieth century, that shaped the inflow of people from other countries started with measures to deal strictly with numbers, and not work-related skills. Two laws were enacted in the 1920's that imposed quotas on people entering the United States from other countries. They were the Emergency Quota Act of 1917, and the Immigration Act of 1924. The former, passed by Woodrow Wilson and an overwhelming majority in Congress, barred entry of "undesirables" including those with mental illnesses and those under sixteen years of age who were illiterate. That law also introduced a reading text as a condition of citizenship.
The Bracero Program of 1942, passed into law by Franklin Roosevelt, was a migrant worker program, allow workers from Latin America entrance into the United States for agricultural work, only. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, added deportation to those suspected of being a Communist sympathizer. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was the first law to do away with quotas based on national origin, and to favor those with family already in the country. This law also did away with the those entering under the Bracero Program, and created the first wave of illegal immigrants from Latin America, due to the inability to enter under the migrant worker program.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act, or IRCA, was setup to deal with the influx of illegal workers who began to enter the United States larger after the repeal of the migrant worker program. The law stated that employers who knowingly hired illegal workers would be held liable. The law also established the I-9 form as a means of verifying status for working eligibility.
The immediate impact that the passage of the IRCA had on hiring practices was negligible. Employers continued hiring practices with those of unknown status, and the I-9 forms were not aggressively enforced. There was a move to the hiring of subcontractors as opposed to direct hiring. This allowed the employer to not have to deal with the status of the workers. Rather, the subcontracting firm was responsible for legal status of its workers. The laborer suffered a decrease in wages, as subcontractors held a portion of the worker's pay to cover overhead expenses.
The reform act known as IRCA is still in force, today. Little is being done to verify the information supplied on the I-9 forms. When a worker is suspected of not having legal status, the enforcement is largely imposed upon the laborer, and not on the employer. There is need of reform of the immigration laws to come into line with practice, or for stricter enforcement of statues currently in place. Having one set of laws, and a separate practice for enforcement is not a good way to control immigration.
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