In the 1980’s, the United States government was seeking to curb illegal immigration to the U.S. It believed if the source of the attraction were cut off, i.e. employment opportunities, their ends would be achieved.  Employment eligibility attestations and the threat of sanctions would require employers to only hire persons authorized to work here.  In an attempt to achieve these goals, Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act in 1986 (IRCA). 

Since the Department of Homeland Security ended the special registration requirement for men from predominately Muslim and Arab nations, many questions remain about who must register when departing from the United States. As many of the readers might know, the Department of Homeland Security required that men from 31 nations register with what was formally known as Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS). (The INS has now been split into two branches; the Immigration and Customs Service (ICE), and the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)). Information regarding these individuals’ current address, schooling, or current employment information had to be provided to establish that the individual was in compliance with their original visa issuance.