33 156. On the matter of non-nationals, the Commission has written that each State can practice policies and order methods to control the flow of migrants entering its territory. However, the means that 143 a State can use to exercise this authority must be respectful of human rights. 157. The United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Forms of Intolerance and the Independent Expert on minority issues have held that: while States may create distinctions in the enjoyment of certain benefits between citizens, noncitizens with lawful status and non-citizens without lawful status, the content of the distinction must comply strictly with human rights norms. Under no circumstances can those distinctions be allowed to create an adverse impact on a certain category of people, by intention or consequence, based 144 on race, colour or national origin. 158. The Commission has written that in the enforcement of immigration laws, the basic right to equal protection before the law and non-discrimination requires that States ensure that their immigration law enforcement policies and practices do not unfairly target certain persons based solely on ethnic or racial characteristics, such as skin color, accent, ethnicity, or a residential area known to be populated by a particular ethnic group. Furthermore, international human rights law not only prohibits policies and practices that are deliberately discriminatory in nature, but also those whose effect is to 145 discriminate against a certain category of persons, even when discriminatory intent cannot be shown. 159. Specifically, the Commission has recognized the particularly serious situation that undocumented migrants face, as their immigration status exposes them to even greater abuse. In fact, the specific circumstances facing migrant workers shows that they are frequently up against a situation of structural vulnerability. Migrants constantly run up against roadblocks, including arbitrary arrest and the lack of due process, collective deportation, discrimination in the conferring of citizenship or in acceding to social services that foreigners have a right to by law, inhumane detention conditions, unlawful harassment on the part of authorities, including police and immigration officers, and an utter inability to defend 146 themselves when exploited by unscrupulous employers. 160. The Commission has also observed how the structural vulnerability of immigrants is compounded when their immigrant status is combined with other risk factors such as race, color, national or social origin, language, birth, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic status, religion or any other condition. 161. For its part, the Court has written that the obligation to respect and ensure the principle of the right to equal protection and non-discrimination is irrespective of a person’s migratory status in a State. In other words, States have the obligation to ensure this fundamental principle to its citizens and to any foreigner who is on its territory, without any discrimination based on regular or irregular residence, nationality, 147 race, gender or any other cause. 143 IACHR, Report on Immigration in the United States. December 30, 2010, paragraph 169. Detention and Due Process, OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 78/10, 144 Annex 45. UN, Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, Doudou Diène, and the independent expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, Addendum, Mission to Dominican Republic, A/HRC/7/19/Add.5, A/HRC/7/23/Add.3, March 18, 2008, paragraph 107. Annex B of the petitioners’ observations on the merits, April 16, 2009. 145 IACHR, Report on immigration in the United States: December 30, 2010, paragraph 95. detention and due process, OEA/Ser.L/V/II., Doc. 78/10, 146 IACHR, Annual Report of the IACHR, 2000, Chapter VI, Special studies. Second Progress Report of the Special Rapporteurship on Migrant Workers and Their Families in the Hemisphere, OEA/Ser./L/V/II.111, doc. 20 rev., April 16, 2001, paragraph 64. 147 I/A Court H.R., Case of the Girls Yean and Bosico v. Dominican Republic. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of September 8, 2005. Series C No. 130, paragraph 155.