Yvette Clarke: “Let me thank the gentleman from New York for saving me. I have recovered now and would just like to bring forth a few…”

“Let me thank the gentleman from New York for saving me. I have recovered now and would just like to bring forth a few more points. Working class Americans of all backgrounds, races, and ethnicities are adversely affected with a broken immigration system. As we stated, they are dealing with depressed wages because of unscrupulous and illegal corporate hiring practices. Urban communities aren't even being adequately counted via the census and other surveys, resulting in the reduction of adequate government services and Federal resources to meet the needs of actual populations in our communities, increasing the strain on current public services. Urban communities are exposed to more crime as the undocumented are more reluctant to report crimes, and African Americans are dealing with increased racial and status discrimination as many are subjected to interrogation based on citizenship. {time} 2130 Imagine our delight, Mr. Speaker, when the immigration reform debate gained some traction this year with the actions taking place in the Senate. There were tangible legislative fixes in the works. The CBC quickly expressed our concerns to both the House and the Senate leadership over the elimination of the Diversity Visas, used largely by African and Eastern European immigrants.…”