The nomination and confirmation of an Hispanic to the Supreme Court sends a message across America of the arrival of equality for Hispanic America but this achievement pales in comparison to Immigration Reform. There are 12 million undocumented Hispanic sacrificial lambs in the trenches facing daily despair and an additional 30 million Hispanics impacted by adverse immigration requirements on family members and friends.

All of this is attributed to an archaic immigration process that is the most monolithic and barbaric law in the United States.

Nearly all undocumented Hispanics are subjected to routine hardships and cruelties stemming from their lack of legal status. Others who have legal status are victimized by racial profiling, wage theft and other forms of abuse simply because of their ethnicity or vulnerability. A vast number of immigrant families face great uncertainty and fear because of their mixed status, with both undocumented Hispanics and American Hispanics living together.

The large number of undocumented Hispanics living throughout the country reflects our failed immigration policies. Policies over the past 10 years, in particular, have made it virtually impossible for many immigrants — even those married to U.S. citizens — to regularize their status. The employer sanctions program created by the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act has utterly failed. As a result, there are 12 million undocumented Hispanics living in the U.S. with strong community ties, working hard and paying taxes, who have no hope of legalizing their status absent a change in immigration law.

In recent years, the federal government has embarked on a campaign of workplace raids to round up undocumented Hispanic workers, while many cities and states have enacted harsh measures intended to make life as difficult as possible for them. Together, these activities are leading to racial profiling and other human rights abuses and are exacting a heavy toll on Hispanics, regardless of their immigration status. At the same time, unscrupulous employers continue to exploit vulnerable Hispanic workers, eroding safeguards that protect all workers from abuse and protect honest businesses from unfair competition.

To compound the problem, present immigration law is so out of touch with reality imposing undue hardships on Hispanics such as unfair quotas, unavailable visa processes, and dentition in ICE facilities without the right of Habeas Corpus.

On signing, The Immigration Reform Act of 2009 will provide law protecting undocumented Hispanics in the United States. Challenges concerning this law such as ruling against the City of Hazleton, PA, the U.S. Supreme Court, which is primarily an appellate court, will determine constitutionality in accordance with Section 2 of Article III of the United States Constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court will determine constitutionality on the basis of the Supremacy Clause in the United States Constitution, Article VI, paragraph 2. The clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. treaties as "The Supreme Law of the Land." The text establishes these as the highest form of law in the American legal system, mandating state judges uphold them, even if state laws or constitutions conflict.

Unless we create a fair mechanism to allow undocumented Hispanic immigrants to regularize their status, the exploitation and abuse of Hispanic immigrants will continue indefinitely — and our economy will not realize the full benefits of their participation.

The only solution is new Federal law: The Immigration Reform Act of 2009 which will bring undocumented Hispanic immigrants out of the shadows by providing a workable path to citizenship is the only realistic, fair and humane solution.

This reform must be coupled with strong enforcement of labor and civil rights protections. This would make crime victims and communities safer, curb racial profiling and other abuses, and better protect the wages and working conditions of all workers.

Absent The Immigration Reform Act of 2009 places Hispanics in a crossfire of hostility, discrimination and exploitation even as new Hispanic immigrants provide the low-wage labor craved by businesses and homeowners in the region.

All of the above fuels attacks by anti-Hispanic fanatical partisan whites. In fact, anti-Hispanic venom is used not only against 12 million undocumented Hispanics but an additional 30 million Hispanics who are attacked because of the color of their brown face regardless of American citizenship.

It’s the perfect time for immigration reform

It was not long ago when Alan Greenspan spoke about the economy but the rough economy pushed immigration to the back burner; nonetheless, immigration reform still matters, and Greenspan can still serve up some pearls of economic wisdom. In fact, immigration and Greenspan came together on April 30 in a hearing before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security titled “Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2009: Can We Do It and How?”

The new subcommittee chairman, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, said, “From my perspective, it is time to tone down the rhetoric, focus on facts, and carefully weigh what is in the best interests of our taxpayers, our economy, our security and our future.”

In his testimony, Greenspan noted, “Immigration to the U.S. slowed markedly with the onset of the current economic crisis.… But as the crisis fades, there is little doubt attraction of the United States to foreign workers and their families will revive. It’s critical to keep in mind the degree to which U.S. population growth relies on immigration. From 2000 to 2008, for example, immigrants accounted for 36 percent of the increase in the nation’s population."

The former Fed chairman noted reform must address two policy issues — undocumented Hispanic immigration and the need for skilled foreign workers.

Regarding undocumented Hispanic workers, while noting political challenges, Greenspan stated, "Undocumented Hispanic immigration has made a significant contribution to the growth of our economy.” He pointed out undocumented Hispanic immigrants “accounted for more than a sixth of the increase in our total civilian labor force from 2000 to 2007, and even with the fall off last year, undocumented Hispanics still comprised an estimated 5 percent of our total civilian work force.”

Regarding the costs and benefits of undocumented Hispanics, Greenspan highlighted “economists generally view the overall economic benefits of this work force as significantly outweighing the costs.” He called for establishing a temporary worker program.

Immigration also is quite important to our economy in terms of the creation of new businesses. A November 2008 study from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy found "Immigrants are nearly 30 percent more likely to start a business than are non-immigrants.” In California, almost 30 percent of all business owners are immigrants. In New York, it’s 25 percent, and in New Jersey, Florida and Hawaii, it’s more than 20 percent.

Sen. Schumer said, “Recent polls show 57 percent of Americans believe immigration reform should be a high priority for this Congress. The politics may be hard, but reality is obvious: It is everyone’s best interests to change and fix our current immigration system.”

1. Immigration Law: There is No "Line"

It's a refrain often repeated on talk radio and TV talk shows when immigration is debated: Why don't they just get in line to become legal?

As one Latina interviewed for this report noted, "They don't understand it's not that easy." In fact, for undocumented Hispanic immigrants in the United States —  there is no line.

Immigration law is enormously complex, with dozens of potential immigration statuses.

Currently, there are four major ways a person can obtain a green card for lawful permanent residency: A specified family relationship with a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident; An employer petition for lawful permanent residency; Adjustment from refugee or asylee status; and Obtaining a diversity visa, a process commonly known as "the lottery."

Most undocumented Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. find none of these options are available to them.

2. Family Relationships and the "Anchor Baby" Myth

Despite the widespread myth of the "anchor baby" born to undocumented Hispanic immigrants who use a child to quickly gain citizenship, the law does not allow such a path. Children born in the United States cannot petition for the permanent residency of their parents until age 21. Further, there is no data supporting theory families have babies as part of a 21-year plan to achieve citizenship. In fact, absent changes to U.S. law, the parents would likely be ineligible to migrate to the United States.

The other family relationships specified as a path to lawful permanent residency include spouses, parents and siblings. The process of gaining residency status through a family relationship can take more than 20 years. Some of these family relationship categories are so backlogged with immigrants seeking legal permanent resident status, federal officials have declared those categories unavailable. Immigrants who don't have these relationships will find this path to citizenship is non-existent.

3. Employer Petition

Employment-based visas are not available to most low-income workers, even for the most exemplary employees. Of the more than 1 million legal permanent resident visas given out each year, only 10,000 are allocated for workers who are not highly educated or trained. There are so many individuals waiting for these visas, the category has been designated as unavailable by immigration officials.

4. Refugee/Asylee Status

Refugee or asylee status is a rare commodity for Mexican or Central American residents. Few people from these areas have been granted either status in recent years. In order to qualify, individuals must face a "well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." Asylum is not an option for those seeking to escape crushing poverty.

5. "The Lottery"

The odds are long in the diversity visa "lottery." In this lottery, about 50,000 visas are awarded each year to eligible individuals. Yet more than 6 million people from around the world applied in 2007. Individuals from Mexico and most Central American countries are flatly ineligible for these visas because they are reserved for countries with small numbers of immigrants to the United States.

6. A Painful Choice

Even for people otherwise eligible to become permanent residents — such as those married to a U.S. citizen — recent changes to immigration law make it impossible for many of them to adjust their status.

From 1994 until 2001, Section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allowed certain individuals who were otherwise eligible for immigrant visas, but entered the United States without inspection or fell out of lawful status, to become lawful permanent residents without traveling to a U.S. consulate outside the country to obtain this status.

Section 245(i) grew in significance after 1996, when Congress enacted a law with a provision known as the "3 and 10 year bars." Under this provision, an immigrant who is unlawfully in the United States for more than 180 days and then leaves the country is barred from re-entry for three or 10 years. The length of the re-entry ban depends on the length of the undocumented Hispanics stay.

Until 2001, Section 245(i) provided a path to legal permanent residence that didn't require eligible aliens to leave the country — a requirement that would subject them to the re-entry ban.

Because of more recent changes to immigration law, however, countless people who are otherwise eligible to adjust their status — including thousands of people married to U.S. citizens — are subject to that ban.

Many people now face the painful choice of either leaving the country and their family for 10 years for the chance to become a legal permanent resident or remaining in the United States with their family and giving up the hope of ever achieving legal status.

Another popular myth blames immigrants for higher levels of crime, though several studies conducted over the past 100 years have shown immigrants are less likely to commit crimes or be incarcerated than natives.

The incarceration rate for native-born men age 18 — 39, a group that comprises much of the prison population, was 3.5 percent in 2000 — five times greater than the foreign-born incarceration rate of 0.7 percent. Since 1994, the nation's undocumented Hispanics immigrant population has doubled to 12 million, while the violent crime rate dropped 34 percent and property crime dropped 26 percent. The crime rate also declined in cities with large immigrant populations, such as Miami, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Because they risk deportation, undocumented Hispanic immigrants have a strong motivation to avoid any brushes with the law.

Recommendations:

The Department of Labor should prioritize enforcement of labor laws in states with no functioning wage and hour enforcement operations.

Congress should enact legislation to overturn Hoffman Plastic Compounds, Inc. v. NLRB 535 U.S. 137 (2002). That decision has created a perverse incentive for employers to prefer undocumented Hispanics workers, because they believe those exploited workers will not complain and will not have any legal remedy.

Congress should remove restrictions on assistance funded by the Legal Services Corporation that prohibit Legal Services offices from representing undocumented Hispanic immigrants and handling class action lawsuits.

The EEOC should re-issue the guidance, rescinded in 2002, clarifying, in most instances, undocumented Hispanic immigrants are entitled to the same relief as other employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The EEOC should reinvigorate and dedicate adequate resources to its Systemic Task Force and engage in class action and other high-impact litigation aimed at combating systemic discrimination.

The Employment Litigation Section of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division should pursue more litigation to address systemic discrimination cases.

2. Congress and the president must act to end racial profiling

Congress should enact a federal statute to effectively prohibit racial profiling, such as the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA), which was introduced in the House of Representatives in 2007.

The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department should strengthen its "pattern and practice" law enforcement misconduct docket by focusing on local law enforcement agencies that lack strong prohibitions against racial profiling and by bringing more lawsuits.

The Obama administration should issue an executive order prohibiting racial profiling by federal officers and banning law enforcement practices, including those by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and in particular 287(g) program local police agencies (such as Sheriff Joe Arpaio) that target Hispanics based on race and ethnicity.

The Obama administration should create a civilian oversight body to review the actions of ICE. This review should examine the recent militarized enforcement, which has included raids that rely on racial profiling and systematic violations of the Fourth Amendment. The 287(g) program should be terminated, because it undermines trust in law enforcement and does not make communities safer. The administration has the authority to terminate this program and return all federal law enforcement powers to the Department of Homeland Security.

3. Congress must act to ensure language access

Congress should provide the necessary funding and resources to allow federal agencies to fully enforce Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The administration should increase the resources available to the Coordination and Review Section of the Department of Justice, which is responsible for enforcing Title VI obligations of federally funded state entities, including state courts.