IRCA had just passed, and the archdiocese was running a program to help immigrants apply for legal status. Millions of undocumented immigrants were eligible under the new law, but many of their children, siblings, and parents didn’t qualify for amnesty. Because they’d entered the US after the law’s eligibility deadline, some were getting deported. Muñoz had lobbied the Bush administration to create a “family unity” policy, before getting involved in shaping the 1990 Immigration Act.
