Thirty years ago, in 1996, President Bill Clinton signed the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) and the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) into law. Combined these two laws have become known as the harmful 1996 immigration laws and have left a devastating and indelible mark on the US immigration system. These laws have supercharged the mass incarceration and deportation of immigrants in the intervening 30 years and are the main tools previous administrations have used, especially the Trump administration is now using to effectuate its immigration enforcement agenda.
As we mark the 30th anniversary of these laws, our communities continue to grieve the pain, separation, and destruction they have caused. This new policy platform examines how the 1996 laws expanded detention, deportation, and family separation – and outlines a vision for a more just and humane future.