The Immigrant Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 provided a one-time opportunity for people who had been living in the United States illegally to obtain legal resident status and eventually qualify for citizenship. In order to go from temporary to permanent status, applicants were now required to demonstrate a minimal understanding of English…

Literacy education for non-English-speaking adults is taxing the fragile adult education system in the United States. Despite federal limitations, a million immigrants enter the country each year. In contrast with the past, the non-English-speaking need more education to compete in more sophisticated workplaces. The nation's largest cities are…

This document focuses on the requirements of the immigrant amnesty process, which were established by the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986. Sections focus on the following questions: (1) How can eligible legalized aliens (ELA) fulfill the IRCA educational requirements? (2) What issues are considered in designing and offering an…

This report presents the findings of a California study on the demographic and educational characteristics and pre-enrollment language skills of over 265,000 newly legalized persons beginning legalization education programs. Data summarized about this population include immigration history, nationality, language background, age, distribution of…

A survey was conducted to learn more about the population of immigrant amnesty applicants in California, which comprises 55% of the population nationwide applying for legalization through the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Findings are reported separately, in most cases, for immigrants who have resided in the United States since…

An analysis and discussion of regulations in the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act focus on policy issues concerning requirements for language proficiency and knowledge of United States history and government for immigrant amnesty. Five specific issues are addressed: 1) the discriminatory effect of requiring only amnesty applicants to…

The content of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act is described, its current interpretations are examined, and the implications for developing a responsible language and citizenship curriculum to conform to the legislation are discussed. Specific attention is focused on the law's requirement that illegal aliens applying for amnesty and…