The IRCA of 1986 was meant to be a one time amnesty deal. Period. It included severe penalties for employers who hired illegals --- up to a $1,000,000 fine. Ted Kennedy gutted the enforcement provisions and the rest is history. Roughly 2.7 million illegals were effected by the passing of the IRCA of 1986.
Reagan wasn't perfect but he learned from his mistakes and he would not support blanket amnesty for illegals again. If Reagan were around today, he would take a far different position on the illegal immigration issue then he did 20 years ago. Reagan would support enforcement first --- assure the borders were secured and employers halted their practice of hiring illegals in direct violation of US law. I'm confident, Reagan would also support building a barrier along the border with Mexico. Dangerous times require serious decisions be made.
Reagan was certainly my favorite president. Yes, he made some mistakes, and he didn’t turn back the tide of big government. At best, he stalled it for awhile. I expect Reagan would have accomplished far more if he had had a (conservative) Republican congress. He did the best he could with the team he had.
You're right, but he was a Democrat who must have voted for FDR (4 times), Truman (my favorite Democrat for dropping the bomb), Adlai Stevenson, and in 1960 voted for America's sweetheart, Kennedy. These votes are all assumptions, based on his being a party faithful man. It wasn't until 1962 that he claimed that the Democratic Party had left him. Ronald Regan was my hero because he was a human who made mistakes and learned from them. He was also an extremely compassionate man.