On Wednesday, the Miami-Dade and Hillsborough County School Boards voted in favor of a mask mandate to protect Florida's children amid a surge of COVID-19 cases in the state. This is a prime example of why it’s important to have bold leaders on every school board—so run for your local school board maybe? (We can help you with that.)

Between the triumvirate of crises happening in Afghanistan, Haiti, and Lebanon, there’s a lot of pain and suffering in the world right now. Heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to describe it all, but if there’s one thing we can find solace in, it’s that many New American and BIPOC elected officials are speaking out, pushing for assistance, and being in solidarity with the affected communities. (And we hope that ALL of our country’s political leaders join them in doing so.) Among these electeds, Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Cori Bush, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, and New York Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz called for the U.S. to welcome more Afghan refugees, and New York City Councilwoman Farah Louis, the second Haitian American to serve on the Council, vowed to not leave Haiti and its citizens behind.

With Afghanistan on the brink of a humanitarian disaster, the time for us to act is now.

The United States has a responsibility to provide refuge for those seeking it as the Taliban aims to take the country by force. Leaving after the U.S. employees are evacuated would abandon thousands who will be persecuted under Taliban rule, which is unacceptable.

Sign this petition to tell the Biden administration to support vulnerable Afghans and lift the refugee admission caps.