Timelines

The most contentious component of the bill, Title III, enacted a rule that undocumented persons residing in the U.S. for more than one year and found in violation of certain legal rules would be deported and forbidden from re-entry for ten years. This stipulation held true even for individuals with a spouse or children who were U.S. citizens. The IIRIRA permitted Congress to impose penalties retroactively, deporting immigrants for conduct that was not a deportable offense when the action in question occurred. It also put in place employment eligibility verification guidelines, including provisions to impose sanctions on employers who did not comply with restrictions on unfair immigrant employment practices.