Democrats used to be the party of anti-immigration. It was widely held in the party that introducing a limitless source of cheap labor was terrible for the working man who was already here. President Clinton was in the forefront to control illegal immigration.

1995 Radio Address:

1995 State Of The Union Address:

Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996:

President Bill Clinton asserted that the legislation strengthened “the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the criminal justice system—without punishing those living in the United States legally”.

With IIRAIRA, all aliens, regardless of legal status, were liable to removal and it expanded types of transgressions that could lead to removal.

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) is a U.S. immigration law enacted as Division C of the Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997, signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 30, 1996.

The law became effective on April 1, 1997, and made significant changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), aiming to strengthen border control, increase interior enforcement, and reform immigration procedures.

IIRAIRA expanded border enforcement by authorizing increases in the number of Border Patrol agents and support personnel through fiscal years 1997 to 2001, and by funding the construction of physical barriers and roads in high-traffic border areas, including San Diego, California. It also mandated improvements in border equipment and technology, including the use of biometric identifiers in border crossing identification cards.

The law imposed stricter penalties for illegal immigration, including civil fines for unlawful entry and criminal penalties for alien smuggling, racketeering, and the use or creation of fraudulent immigration documents.

It introduced new rules for individuals who overstay their visas: those who remain in the U.S. for 180 to 365 days face a three-year bar to reentry, while those who overstay for more than one year face a ten-year bar, unless they obtain a waiver.