Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke today asked President Obama to stop the deportation of Americans who lack legal status in the United States, to prevent the continued dislocation of families and children that disrupts the communities we share.

“There are thousands and thousands of family in the community I represent who are threatened with deportation. These are real families – mothers and fathers, sons and daughters – who are living with the risk of separation, in some instances, permanent separation.” said Congresswoman Clarke. “Until we have comprehensive reform of a failed system of immigration, we cannot in good faith allow the often irrevocable harm of deportation to continue. With each day, we deport more than one thousand people who could potentially become citizens.”

In July, the Senate passed an immigration reform bill that would allow most of the victims of our failed system of immigration to obtain status as legal permanent residents and, eventually, to become citizens. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives have refused, however, to allow a vote on the bill.

Congresswoman Clarke continued: “The people we represent have a right to expect that Congress will enact comprehensive immigration reform that based on our values, particularly the belief that families should be protected from dislocation. In the meantime, we should prevent the unnecessary separation of family members.”

U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the House Committee on Small Business, Ethics, and Homeland Security, where she is the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.