Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, Whip of the Congressional Black Caucus emphasizes the importance of solidarity, coalition building, and comprehensive immigration reform's impact on the African American community in New York.

"I felt that for far too long, the face of immigration reform was not not reflective of all the people who have been impacted. That for too long Latino brothers and sisters have had to shoulder this very very serious issue and have been stigmatized unfairly and unjustly just by virtue of their numbers here in the U.S. No matter what generation you were American, if you were of Latino descent, you could be at any point in time victimized by the system that was running rampant and picking people up and shoveling them around. I would assume that very largely Asian concentrated areas you may see a similar type of phenomenon. They didn't care if you were 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation--if you looked Asian you were subject to ridicule. For those of African descent it's a little bit different, it's not until you open your mouth and hear your accent that someone may accuse you of being here undocumented."

And remember, please text AAPI to 69866 to join in on the updates on comprehensive immigration. You will be asked to reply with your zip-code and email to become a part of the national Reform Immigration for America campaign's Cell Phone Action Network. As a part of the network, you will receive periodic text messages on the latest news and action opportunities around immigration reform, specific to your state or local community.