Sonia Sotomayor staff recommended her to him, they said "Have we got a judge for you!" Moynihan identified with her socio-economic and academic background and became convinced she would become the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. D'Amato became an enthusiastic backer of Sotomayor, who was seen as politically centrist at the time. Of the impending drop in salary from private practice, Sotomayor said: "I've never wanted to get adjusted to my income because I knew I wanted to go back to public service. And in comparison to what my mother earns and how I was raised, it's not modest at all." Sotomayor
Stereotypes of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States are vilified. The term "illegal alien" is defined as "a foreign person who is living in a country without having official permission to live there" Despite many Latino/Hispanic Americans being born in the U.S. or having legal status, they can be dismissed as immigrants or foreigners who live without proper documentation taking opportunities and resources from real Americans. Immigrants have been represented as depriving citizens of jobs, as welfare-seekers, or as criminals. Especially with the recent political/social movement in the United States for stricter immigration law, Americans are blaming Hispanics for "stealing jobs" and negatively impacting the economy. A very