FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2025
Peoria, AZ — Northwest Valley Indivisible is calling on Congressman Abe Hamadeh to take immediate action to assist a Peoria mother and longtime community member, Kelly Yu, who was detained by ICE during a routine check-in earlier this month. Her family lives in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, which Hamadeh represents.
Kelly Yu fled China at age 18 while pregnant, seeking asylum in the United States. She has lived here for more than 21 years, raising a family, operating a small business, and trying—through every legal channel available—to convert her asylum status to citizenship. Her sudden detention has left her family devastated and her community outraged.
Her story mirrors another immigrant family’s journey: the Hamadehs. Congressman Hamadeh’s parents arrived in the U.S. in 1989 on six-month visitor visas. They overstayed. In 1996, his father faced a deportation order. What saved them was time, compassion, and a legal system that allowed their case to be heard. They eventually became citizens in 2007 and 2009. Their son now serves in Congress.
Kelly Yu is asking for that same chance. And her family deserves it.
“Rep. Hamadeh owes his entire life story to a system that gave his parents a second chance,” said Brent Peak, co-chair of Northwest Valley Indivisible. “They weren’t deported. They weren’t taken away during a check-in. They were allowed to stay, to contribute, and to raise a family. The same compassion that protected his family should protect Kelly Yu’s.”
Northwest Valley Indivisible is urging Rep. Hamadeh to take the following immediate actions:
- Initiate a formal constituent assistance request with ICE on behalf of Kelly Yu’s family
- Call for her humanitarian release and due process
- Publicly affirm his support for long-term community members like Kelly Yu to have their asylum cases fully reviewed without detention or deportation threats
We ask Rep. Hamadeh to lead—not just as a policymaker, but as someone who knows what it means for a family to be given a chance.
Kelly Yu is not a threat. She is a mother, a neighbor, a small business owner, and a survivor. She belongs here.
Northwest Valley Indivisible is a grassroots community organization dedicated to defending democracy, protecting human rights, and holding elected officials accountable in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.