Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke hosted a free clinic yesterday where representatives of the New York Immigration Coalition and the New York Legal Assistance Group provided assistance with applications for (and renewals of) the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

The program (referred to as deferred action or DACA), which President Obama announced on June 16, 2012, has allowed more than 560,000 people who entered the United States as children to avoid the threat of deportation and to obtain work authorization.

“I want to thank the young men and young women who visited my district office today to participate in the deferred action program, and the dedicated attorneys who provided them with assistance,” said Congresswoman Clarke. “These individuals have chosen to remain in their home – the United States – and to pursue higher education or find jobs in our economy. They have chosen to become full participants in our society, with the right to remain here and to work legally. Now, Congress has a responsibility to demonstrate a similar commitment to their future, by enacting comprehensive immigration reform that allows people who are as a practical matter Americans to become citizens, with the rights of citizens and without fear of deportation. The participants in the deferred action program have acted. President Obama has acted. I urge my colleagues in Congress to act on this critical issue as well.”

If you are interested in applying for deferred action or renewing your status, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/consideration-deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-daca.  

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.