Herbert A. Weiss Immigration Law Blog on Lawyers.com

On February 6, 2011 America celebrated the centennial of Ronald Reagan’s birth.  I had the good fortune on March 22 of attending a conference sponsored by the prestigious Manhattan Institute that was entitled “Supply-Side Economics:  From The Reagan Era to Today” and that was devoted to examining the leadership and legacy of Ronald Reagan’s economic policy.  There were many distinguished guests and speakers and the discussion was quite fascinating regarding the effects of Reagan’s economic policies during his two terms in office, and how he would have dealt with some of the rather serious economic problems that the country is facing today.

The presidency of Ronald Reagan was certainly admired and lauded by many conservatives and Republicans who felt that he did a great deal to restore American power, honor, and prosperity during his eight years in office.  For the most part, Reagan has been judged well by history.  He certainly was a popular President at the time he left The White House, and beloved by most Americans at his passing on June 5, 2004.  When he assumed office in 1981, America was beset by a phenomenon known as stagflation, a derisive term reflecting the existence simultaneously of low economic growth coupled with high unemployment and accelerating prices.  The “misery index” -- the sum of the consumer price inflation plus the unemployment rate -- peaked at well over 20%.  The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan leading President Jimmy Carter to cancel American participation in The Olympics, and Iranian revolutionaries had taken over the American Embassy in Tehran in what was known as “The Hostage Crisis” that wound up dragging on an agonizing 444 days.  America was in the midst of a malaise according to President Carter, and its prestige as a superpower had sunk to dangerously low levels.

By the time Regan left office, the hostage crisis had been resolved, the Soviets on their way to eventual defeat as exemplified by the razing of the Berlin Wall one year after Reagan left office, and American prosperity restored as seen in the creation of 18 million new jobs, a bull run on the stock market, and Silicon Valley blossoming and becoming a symbol for innovation.  During Reagan’s term, the expansion of the U.S. economy exceeded the entire size of West Germany’s economy, at the time the world’s third largest.  Reagan’s detractors accused him of running up sizable deficits, a serious problem that has become magnified today, and of practicing “voodoo economics.”  His supporters would say that even if true, these economic practices were necessary in the Cold War fight against the Soviet Union.  Our willingness to spend substantially on anti-ballistic missile defense and to beef up our military prowess in general ultimately led to the bankrupting of the Soviet Union and its demise.

Although the conference was devoted to a discussion of President Reagan’s economic policies, it set me thinking about the man’s position on U.S. immigration policy and his legacy in this regard. 

Reagan was a pro-immigrant President.  He believed that immigrants were not criminals, not looking only to take from American society, but to give something of value, their labor, in return. In his farewell address to the nation in January 1989, Reagan spoke about his vision of a free, prosperous society.  It included a place for those who were seeking to come to America to participate in the politics of an exceptional nation.  In speaking of the “shining city” he so dearly loved, he remarked:  “And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.” (emphasis added).

His signature piece of legislation on which he will be judged is, of course, the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).  The law accomplished two things. It legalized 2.8 million undocumented aliens through an amnesty program, allowing more foreigners to enter the U.S. legally than any previous U.S. president since Teddy Roosevelt.  It also put in place employer sanctions, designed to penalize U.S. employers who henceforth would employ undocumented aliens.  While the amnesty was for the most part a success, employer sanctions has enjoyed a mixed record, and the country still grapples with enforcement problems and the debate in general of how to deter undocumented foreign workers from reaching our shores to benefit from the economic haven that America offers.

In addition to IRCA, Reagan was a great proponent of Free Trade and the vision that he articulated in his 1980 campaign came to fruition with the approval of the U.S. –Canada Free Trade Act of 1988, soon expanded to include Mexico in what became The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).  And much of the debate that led to the passage of The Immigration Act of 1990 (IA90) occurred during the Reagan administration.  IA 90 produced a dramatic change in U.S. immigration law which for the most part has worked out quite well in meeting America’s needs in a global economy.  

Do the times make the man, or does the man make the times?  At least one of the speakers at the Manhattan Institute conference argued that Reagan couldn’t have been the Reagan he ultimately became had he been elected to the presidency in 1976.  The difficult times the country experienced during the Carter administration helped to create bipartisan support for his controversial tax cuts, as did the assassination attempt on him in 1981 by the crazed John Hinckley, Jr.  But even though these events undoubtedly helped him, most experts concur that it was the force of Reagan’s personality and skill that truly made his administration successful.                ;

Ronald Reagan was one of the great American Presidents.  And at least one of the panelists, a prominent economist, remarked that Reagan was truly a “nice” man, not prone to the vitriol that permeates so much of politics, especially today.  I believe there are many who share this economist’s opinion of Reagan’s character.

When Reagan ran against Carter in 1980, during the debates he asked of Americans frequently, “are you better off today than you were 4 years ago.”  Most Americans agreed they weren’t and they elected Reagan handily.  It is a testament to Reagan that the country followed his leadership and in so doing, became a stronger and more prosperous nation.

For more than 30 years, the law firm of Garganigo, Goldsmith & Weiss has been assisting people with immigration, green card or visa issues. For more information on how our NY immigration attorneys can help, please call us at 212-643-6400, email us online, or visit our office at 14 Penn Plaza, Suite 1020, New York, NY 10122.