Simpson-Mazzoli Act of 1986, penalized employers for hiring illegal aliens and offering amnesty to aliens who illegally entered the country before 1982 was an attempt to offer some solution to a broken system in need of fixing since the last piece of legislation authored by Peter Rodino in the early 1970's.

Of course, it had its detractors, including the Mexican government. Seems in the area of Immigration, you just can't please everybody - or in some cases, most anybody.