IRCA-Related Discrimination: Actions Have Been Taken to Address IRCA-Related Discrimination, but More is Needed

GAO discussed recent efforts to address employment discrimination related to the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA). GAO noted that: (1) IRCA requires all employers to verify each newly hired employee's eligibility to work in the United States, and to then complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9); (2) the Immigration Act of 1990 included provisions to address IRCA-related employment discrimination and authorized $10 million to carry them out; (3) the provisions do not address prior GAO and task force recommendations to reduce the number of work authorization documents required and their vulnerability to being counterfeited or fraudulently used or to increase antidiscrimination enforcement by establishing Office of the Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) regional offices; (4) the Attorney General established an intradepartmental task force to coordinate government activities related to IRCA-related discrimination; (5) in fiscal year (FY) 1990 and FY 1991, OSC funded over $2 million in grants to educate employers and employees about IRCA antidiscriminatory provisions, and has over $4 million available for such efforts in FY 1992; (6) the Immigration and Naturalization Service funded local and national media campaigns on IRCA antidiscrimination provisions, revised the I-9 form and the employer handbook, and took action to improve the security of the alien registration receipt card and the employment authorization document; and (7) the Department of Labor provides employers and authorized workers with information about IRCA.