Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on the decision by Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the Southern District of Texas to delay implementation of Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a decision which threatens millions of Americans with deportation.

Previously, the Department of Homeland Security had intended to start accepting requests for the expansion of DACA on February 18, 2015.

“I am deeply disappointed in the decision announced today, which will delay millions of Americans from avoiding the threat of deportation and obtaining authorization to work in the United States. This decision was unprecedented. President Obama acted under his authority as our chief executive to develop these programs with Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. Such authority has been used previously, for example by President Reagan. Yet President Obama has not been accorded the same deference. This decision will only delay the resolution of a crisis that we cannot allow to continue. I urge President Obama and the Department of Homeland Security to pursue a reversal of this decision in the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has the authority to end this delay and restore these programs immediately.”

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.