Representative Romano Louis Mazzoli

Romano Louis “Ron” Mazzoli (November 2, 1932 – November 1, 2022) was an American politician and lawyer from Kentucky who served as a Democratic Representative from Kentucky in the United States Congress from 1971 to 1995. Over the course of 12 consecutive terms, he represented Louisville, Kentucky, and its suburbs in the U.S. House of Representatives and became a leading figure in immigration policy, most notably as the primary architect, with Senator Alan K. Simpson, of major immigration reform legislation enacted in 1986.

Mazzoli was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to a family whose father had immigrated to the United States from northern Italy. He attended St. Xavier High School, a Xaverian Brothers boys’ preparatory school in Louisville, graduating in 1950. While at St. Xavier, he distinguished himself athletically as well as academically, winning the 1950 Kentucky boys’ high school doubles tennis championship with fellow St. Xavier student George D. Koper. He went on to attend the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1954. He then returned to Louisville to study law at the University of Louisville School of Law, from which he graduated first in his class in 1960, beginning a legal career that would underpin his later work in public office.

Before entering national politics, Mazzoli built his reputation in Kentucky state and local politics. He served in the Kentucky Senate from 1968 through 1970, representing his Louisville-area constituency and gaining experience in legislative procedure and public policy. In 1969, he sought to extend his public service to the municipal level by running for mayor of Louisville; he finished third in the Democratic primary, an outcome that nonetheless increased his visibility and laid the groundwork for his subsequent bid for Congress. His combination of legal training, legislative experience, and local political engagement positioned him as a credible and energetic candidate for federal office at the close of the 1960s.

Mazzoli was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1970, narrowly defeating Republican incumbent William Cowger by 211 votes in what was the closest House election in the nation that year. He took office in January 1971 and went on to serve for the next 24 years, leaving Congress in January 1995. During his tenure, he participated actively in the democratic process and represented the interests of his Louisville-area constituents through a period of significant change in American political and social life. In the House, he rose to positions of influence, serving as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration, International Law and Refugees for twelve years, where he played a central role in shaping U.S. immigration policy. He also served on the Small Business Committee, the Intelligence Committee, and the District of Columbia Committee, contributing to legislation in areas ranging from economic development to national security and local governance.

An anti-abortion Democrat, Mazzoli took notable positions on social policy as well as immigration. In 1981, he joined with Republican Representative Henry Hyde to introduce the proposed Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which sought to grant legal protection to all unborn children in the United States and effectively ban all abortions nationwide. Although the amendment attracted substantial attention and debate, it ultimately failed to secure the two-thirds majority required in Congress for passage to the states. Mazzoli’s most enduring legislative achievement came in the field of immigration. He authored the Simpson–Mazzoli Immigration Reform and Control Act, later known as the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, and cosponsored it with Senator Alan K. Simpson. After five years of debate and compromise, the bill was signed into law in November 1986. The act established the first U.S. laws to sanction employers who knowingly hired undocumented aliens and simultaneously provided an amnesty program for many undocumented immigrants already living and working in the United States, reshaping the legal framework for immigration enforcement and regularization. Also in 1986, Mazzoli was selected as one of the House impeachment managers in the impeachment trial of U.S. District Judge Harry E. Claiborne; he helped prosecute the case before the Senate, which found Claiborne guilty and removed him from his federal judgeship.

Mazzoli chose not to run for reelection in 1994, concluding his service in the House at the end of the 103rd Congress in January 1995. His departure marked the first time in nearly a quarter century that the 3rd Congressional District of Kentucky was represented by someone else. In recognition of his long service and impact on his hometown, the 104th United States Congress passed legislation (Public Law 104–77), signed by President Bill Clinton on December 28, 1995, renaming the federal building in downtown Louisville as the Romano L. Mazzoli Federal Building, a lasting tribute to his congressional career and local roots.

After leaving Congress, Mazzoli remained active in education, public affairs, and the law. He taught at Bellarmine University in Louisville and served as the Ralph S. Petrilli Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Louisville School of Law during the fall semester of 1995, later returning to the law school as a member of the faculty. In 2002, he was a Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, furthering his engagement with public policy and mentoring students interested in public service. He then enrolled as a student at the Kennedy School, earning a Master in Public Administration degree in June 2004. While studying at Harvard, he lived on campus and met Pete Buttigieg, then an undergraduate; their acquaintance continued over the years, and in 2012 Mazzoli officiated Buttigieg’s inauguration as mayor of South Bend, Indiana. In September 2006, he and Alan Simpson co-authored an article in The Washington Post reflecting on their 1986 immigration legislation and its relevance in the contemporary political climate, underscoring his continued involvement in national debates on immigration reform.

In his personal life, Mazzoli married Helen Dillon in 1959. The couple had two children and remained married until her death in 2012. Romano Louis Mazzoli died at his home in Louisville on November 1, 2022, one day before his 90th birthday, closing a life marked by sustained public service at the local, state, and national levels and by a lasting influence on American immigration law and legislative practice.