The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate with respect to hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee, based upon an individual's citizenship or immigration status. The law prohibits employers from hiring only U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents unless required to do so by law, regulation or government contract.

Employers may not refuse to accept lawful documentation that establishes the employment eligibility of an employee, or demand additional documentation beyond what is legally required, when verifying employment eligibility (i.e., completing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9), based on the employee's national origin or citizenship status. It is the employee's choice which of the acceptable Form I-9 documents to show to verify employment eligibility.

IRCA also prohibits retaliation against individuals for asserting their rights under the Act, or for filing a charge or assisting in an investigation or proceeding under IRCA.

IRCA's nondiscrimination requirements are enforced by the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER).

IRCA generally makes employment of unauthorized aliens unlawful (8 U.S.C. §1324a), while prohibiting discrimination in employment based on national origin or citizenship status (8 U.S.C. §1324b).

Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), employers in Indiana, as in all other states, are prohibited from discriminating against individuals in hiring, firing, or recruitment based on their citizenship or immigration status. This federal law requires employers to treat all individuals equally when checking work authorization documents during the Form I-9 employment eligibility verification process. Employers are not allowed to demand more or different documents than are legally required or to refuse to accept valid documents presented by the employee. They also cannot limit their hiring to only U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents unless explicitly required by law, regulation, or a government contract. Additionally, IRCA protects individuals from retaliation if they assert their rights under the Act or participate in an investigation or proceeding related to the Act. The enforcement of these nondiscrimination provisions falls under the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division. Furthermore, IRCA makes it illegal to employ unauthorized aliens, reinforcing the requirement for employers to follow strict employment eligibility verification processes.