Surprise! The Left is now screaming about enforcing the terms of the 1986 amnesty

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Democrats promised President Reagan that in return for amnesty for 2.7 million people, they would agree to pass a law barring employment of future illegal immigrants and ending illegal immigration as we know it. Indeed, the entire purpose of the infamous 1986 amnesty bill, the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), was “to combat the employment of illegal aliens.” The law specifically makes it “illegal for employers to knowingly hire, recruit, refer, or continue to employ unauthorized workers.”

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1996: Democrats agreed to a bill that was supposed to end illegal immigration altogether and ensure that illegal aliens are removed expeditiously. Again, every major Democrat today who was in Congress back then voted for it. In fact, Dianne Feinstein was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle as supporting the bill, though she felt it wasn’t tough enough on employment. She said she was “disappointed” that the law did not increase the penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants and that it did not have a more comprehensive verification system to identify illegal immigrants who try to work in the U.S.

And now the Left clamors to disallow this very enforcement, even though the problem is worse than ever.

The American people were promised the following in the 1986, 1996, and the 2006 laws, supported by nearly every major Democrat leader:

Full operational control of the border;
A border wall;
A visa exit-entry tracking system;
Criminalizing employment in the country;
No benefits for illegal aliens (Democrats explicitly made that clear while preserving welfare for legal immigrants in 1996);
State and local cooperation with immigration enforcement;
Expedited removal, especially for those with criminal records.

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