Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA or IIRAIRA) made major changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). IIRIRA's changes became effective on April 1, 1997.

Former United States President Bill Clinton asserted that the legislation strengthened "the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the criminal justice system — without punishing those living in the United States legally". However, IIRIRA has been criticized as overly punitive "by eliminating due process from the overwhelming majority of removal cases and curtailing equitable relief from removal". A range of critiques have emerged concerning the provisions enacted with IIRIRA, such as the expansion of aggravated felonies, creation of the 287(g) program, reduction in due process rights, and intensified funding of border militarization. With IIRIRA, all noncitizens, regardless of legal status and including long-term legal permanent residents, became subject to removal and greatly expanded the offenses that could lead to formal deportation.

Proponents of the IIRIRA present the case that the policy provided a much needed end to numerous loopholes present beforehand in US immigration policy, which ultimately undermined their efficacy. The ultimate goal of the IIRIRA has been to deter further illegal immigration into the US, and despite a noticeable increase in annual deportations since the policy was enacted in 1996 from around 50,000 to over 200,000 by the beginning of the 2000s, overall illegal immigration has increased since the policy's enactment according to data compiled by the Pew Research Center.

Before IIRIRA, nonimmigrants who overstayed their visas or violated their status could pay a fine that would allow them to adjust their status to permanent residence status. With IIRIRA, however, lawfully admitted nonimmigrants who overstay their visas by one day or longer became ineligible for a new nonimmigrant visa. If the period of overstay ranged from 180 to 365 days, the noncitizen would face a 3-year bar to reentry, and an overstay of more than 365 days would require a 10-year bar. These provisions impact noncitizens who were admitted before and after the enactment of IIRIRA. In these circumstances, a noncitizen who falls under these categories would be subject to summary removal if attempting to reenter the United States. In these removal proceedings, the noncitizen does not have a right to a hearing or a lawyer and is subject to a 5-year bar of entry. Provided by Wikipedia