A Jacksonville advocate is speaking with Florida congressional members, calling on them to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act.
Pierre Uwimana is a refugee organizer for the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
The coalition is partnering with the refugee advocacy group We Are All America this week to urge members of Congress to pass the act, which would provide support for Afghanistan nationals fleeing to the United States.
Uwimana says people in Afghanistan live in hiding and fear for their lives under Taliban rule. They want political leaders to take more action.
“We are asking for, you know, accountability, but we are also asking for increasing the number of immigrants and refugees coming here and also improve the asylum application system,” Uwimana said. “They are here to live to contribute to the economy of this nation. And so we always try to, you know, change the narrative that people come here to exploit, you know, the economy, and that’s not true.”
This comes nearly one year after the United States removed troops from Afghanistan.
Uwimana says the organization will continue to share positive stories of refugees and fight to see the Afghan Adjustment Act passed.