The legalization program of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act was influenced by the behaviors of three local actors in the implementation process: immigrant communities, community-based organizations, and INS officials. The results of two longitudinal field studies in a southwestern city suggest that local interpretations of legalization affected program outcomes by expanding the scope of the program beyond the participation rate projected by national policymakers. We also find that legalization leads to social changes within the immigrant community—the most important being the strengthening of social ties between the home community and the U.S. community.
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