Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the second anniversary of the Consideration of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (referred to as deferred action or DACA), which President Obama announced on June 16, 2012. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, more than 560,000 people have already received temporary legal status under the program, which allows young men and young women who entered the United States as children to avoid deportation and to obtain work authorization.

“The deferred action program has allowed more than half a million Americans to participate in our civil society without the threat of deportation, and to develop their individual capacities by pursuing higher education or finding a job,” said Congresswoman Clarke, who has worked with USCIS and non-profit organizations to provide assistance with the application process to people who are eligible for the program.

“But our work has not nearly been completed. In New York State, for example, there are thousands of young men and young women who have lived here almost their entire lives, but are not eligible for in-state tuition at CUNY or SUNY institutions, because the New York State DREAM Act has not been enacted by the state legislature, even as other states such as Texas and California have implemented similar programs. We cannot afford to underutilize the talents of any of our people. In addition, we must continue to work toward comprehensive immigration reform that will eventually allow the eleven millions Americans who today lack legal status to become full members of this society, as citizens.” 

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.