Senator Kevin Parker Lauds President Obama’s Historic First Step on Addressing America’s Immigration System

In a statement released immediately following President Obama’s announcement of his executive order last night, State Senator Kevin Parker embraced aspects of the new polices while calling for a more comprehensive immigration reform package. “President Obama took an important first step toward fixing America’s long broken immigration system,” said Senator Parker. “The President used his constitutional power to shift America’s focus toward recognizing the important contributions made by millions of hard-working immigrants. For the five million people who will now be eligible to apply for the new Deferred Action Plan, this is a good day. Sadly, it is not for the remaining six million undocumented immigrants for whom the American Dream has yet again been deferred,” said Senator Parker who represents one of the most ethnically diverse districts in the country.

The new policy announced by the President provides for expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program giving protection from deportation to an estimated 270,000 people brought into the country as children before Jan. 1, 2010. There are relief provisions also for highly skilled immigrants, and the undocumented parents of a child who is a United States citizen or permanent resident and who has been in the country for five years or more. Overall, the new policy will benefit approximately 5 million immigrants.

“However, the policy is woefully inadequate in its provisions for parents of DREAMERS covered by DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.); those with applications that have been languishing in the immense immigration backlog and those who arrived in this country less than five years ago,” said the Brooklyn Senator.

Senator Parker joined with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke and Congressman Hakeem Jefferies at a press conference which highlighted the benefits of the new policy but also called on the Republican Congress to act on fixing the broken immigration system.

Commending President Obama for taking action when Congress did not, Senator Parker urged that a great deal more reform is needed, and that we must remember that immigrants are the past, present, and future of our great state and nation. “His action last night showed that the President has finally listened to the voices of millions of New Americans across the nation and in immigrant populated communities such as the 21st District, which I represent. The voices of these members of our community who have finally been heard above the rhetoric of Washington, and they are asking for a way to step out of the shadows and into the sun,” he said. “However, I am troubled by the fact that the increased focus on enforcement will disproportionately affect Black and Latino immigrants who are already the object of negative profiling. While we must protect America’s borders, we must also remember to protect and safeguard those immigrant families who have come to America to live out our American Dream,”

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About Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn community that consists of 318,000 constituents in Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope. He is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committees on Energy and Telecommunications and Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Assistant Democratic Leader for Intergovernmental Affairs, and Chair of the Democratic Task Force on New Americans.