Woodrow, Karen A., and Jeffrey S. Passel. 1990. “Post-IRCA Undocumented Immigration to the United States: Assessment Based on the June 1988 CPS,” Chapter 2, Undocumented Migration to the United States: IRCA and the Experience of the 1980s. F.D. Bean, B. Edmonston, and J.S. Passel (eds.), The Urban Institute Press.



The focus is the question “Has IRCA worked?” Although IRCA reduced the undocumented resident population by nearly 1.7 million residents and an unknown number of the agricultural legalizations, a significant number of undocumented immigrants, at least 2.0 million, remained as of 1988. Some were long term residents, but others appear to have arrived since IRCA’s implementation. IRCA’s legalization program led to changes in the composition of the undocumented population, specifically, a female majority and a non-Mexican majority. Measurement of the size of the resident undocumented population are crucial for evaluating immigration policies.