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UNDER THE RADAR. There are an estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally. They are fighting for legislation to legalize their status

MANILA, Philippines In a December 2013 White House press briefing, US President Barack Obama told reporters immigration reform is "the biggest thing that I wanted to get done this year. Obama admits that the system is broken.

The problem? Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers and there are 11 million people living in the shadows. Neither is good for the economy or the country, read the White Houses statement on immigration reform.

As clich as it may sound, America was a country built on immigrants, with immigrants still significantly contributing to the growth of the US economy.

There are an estimated 3 to 4 million documented Filipinos and Filipino Americans living in the United States.

But despite glorification of immigrant contributions in political speeches and other media, how immigrants are actually treated is a different story. Undocumented immigrants are often portrayed now as criminals and drug addicts, and are treated as 'undesirable.'

According to Pew Research, convicted criminals made up 59% of the removals in 2013, there are at least 4,150,000 undocumented immigrants who had no prior criminal offenses.

Undocumented Filipinos

Immigration reform is not just a Latino issue. According to latest media reports, at least 300,000 Filipinos are living in the United States without proper documentation and are facing removal from the United States this year.

One measure Filipino groups are pushing to alleviate the number of deportations includes Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Filipinos. TPS would benefit over 200,000 "out-of-status" Filipinos in the US, but the government has yet to evaluate this request.

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Waiting for a sign: Obama, Pinoys and US immigration reform