Section 287(g) of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) takes effect, creating a program allowing the Immigration and Naturalization Service to deputize state and local law enforcement officers to perform immigration enforcement functions. Under 287(g) agreements, …
U.S. CongressImmigration and Naturalization ServiceDepartment of JusticeLocal law enforcement agenciesimmigrationlocal-enforcementpolice-collaborationracial-profilingiirira
President Bill Clinton signs the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA), dramatically expanding deportation authority and creating new categories of removable offenses. The law increases annual deportations from approximately 50,000 to over 200,000 by the early 2000s, …
Bill ClintonU.S. CongressImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigration-policymass-deportationretroactive-punishmentdue-processexpedited-removal
President Bill Clinton signs the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA) in response to the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, despite the attack having no connection to immigration. While primarily focused on death penalty procedures and terrorism prosecution, the law contains sweeping …
Bill ClintonU.S. CongressDepartment of JusticeImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigrationdeportationjudicial-reviewretroactive-punishmentterrorism+1 more
The Clinton administration launches Operation Gatekeeper, deploying additional Border Patrol agents, surveillance equipment, and barriers along the San Diego sector of the U.S.-Mexico border. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner implements the “prevention through …
Bill ClintonJanet RenoDoris MeissnerImmigration and Naturalization ServiceU.S. Border Patrolimmigrationborder-militarizationenforcementdeathdeterrence+1 more
Following the acquittal of Los Angeles police officers in the Rodney King beating and the subsequent civil unrest, the Immigration and Naturalization Service collaborates with the LAPD to conduct sweeping arrests targeting undocumented immigrants among those detained during the riots. INS officials …
Immigration and Naturalization ServiceLos Angeles Police DepartmentPete WilsonGeorge H.W. Bushimmigrationdeportationcivil-unrestracial-profilingenforcement-escalation
President Ronald Reagan signs the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, introducing the “aggravated felony” concept into immigration law for the first time. Initially defined narrowly to include murder, federal drug trafficking, and illicit trafficking in certain firearms or destructive devices, …
Ronald ReaganU.S. CongressDepartment of JusticeImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigrationdeportationwar-on-drugsmandatory-minimumdue-process+1 more
President Ronald Reagan issues Executive Order 12324, authorizing the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels carrying undocumented migrants in international waters and return passengers to their country of origin without asylum screening. Though framed neutrally, the order specifically targets …
Ronald ReaganU.S. Coast GuardImmigration and Naturalization ServiceJean-Claude DuvalierDepartment of Stateimmigrationasylumracisminterdictiondetention+1 more
Between April and October 1980, approximately 125,000 Cubans flee to the United States in the Mariel Boatlift after Fidel Castro opens the port of Mariel to emigration. Simultaneously, thousands of Haitians fleeing the brutal Duvalier dictatorship arrive in Florida by boat, creating a natural …
Jimmy CarterFidel CastroCuban refugeesHaitian refugeesImmigration and Naturalization Service+1 moreimmigrationrefugee-policyracismdetentioncold-war+1 more
U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell launches Operation Wetback, a mass deportation initiative using military-style tactics to remove Mexican immigrants. Created by Joseph May Swing, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general heading the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the operation targets …
Dwight D. EisenhowerJoseph May SwingHerbert BrownellImmigration and Naturalization Serviceimmigration-policymass-deportationhuman-rights-violationsmilitarizationracial-profiling