As a women’s rights attorney, Ahmed will always fight to defend a woman’s right to choose, expand access to reproductive healthcare, and implement comprehensive, accessible, and empathetic support systems for survivors of sexual violence while fostering a culture that believes and stands with survivors.

As a steadfast advocate for unity and understanding, Ahmed has actively facilitated peace and diplomacy. Notably during his time at UC Santa Barbara, Ahmed worked to bring our communities together and address hate speech in all its forms by brokering the only ever signed statement between a Hillel, an American Students for Israel, Students for Justice in Palestine, and a Muslim Student Association.

Ahmed believes that no person anywhere should have to suffer from the impacts of endless wars and violence. As such, Ahmed is the only candidate in the race for California’s 16th Congressional District who has consistently called for an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza while speaking out against Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

From San Jose, to Mountain View, to Half Moon Bay, we can no longer afford to live in the same neighborhoods that we work in, and we’ve been priced out of the places that our mothers, fathers, and grandparents have called home.

As our families face the impacts of the affordable housing crisis and growing wealth inequality, Ahmed’s vision is clear: expand access to affordable housing by reinstating critical tax incentives and revitalizing underused land, protect renters from evictions and skyrocketing costs, support our unhoused community members with the wraparound services they need to get back on their feet, and advance opportunities for first-time home buyers.

Access to healthcare is a fundamental human right – no one should die or be unable to seek the care they need because they are experiencing financial hardship. To make healthcare more affordable and accessible for every person, we must pass comprehensive legislation like Rep. Jayapal’s Medicare for All Bill and put an end to our nation’s continued practice of prioritizing the profit margins of major companies over the health and wellbeing of our communities.

Instead of handing out blank checks to big corporations and the ultra-wealthy, it’s time for us to build a human rights economy that places the needs of our communities above the interests of the few and the powerful. In Congress, Ahmed will advocate for fair wages and comprehensive benefits for every worker, expand resources to support our small businesses and start-ups, and protect workers’ right to bargain collectively while empowering them with the tools and training they need to adapt to an evolving job market.

Every day, marginalized community members face the disproportionate impacts of criminalization and incarceration at the hands of our criminal justice system. In Congress, Ahmed will champion policies to hold law enforcement accountable for their actions, address racial disparities in policing, and center rehabilitative practices.

Our broken immigration system is reflective of the shortcomings and failures of our criminal justice system – no person who is escaping any kind of persecution should be met with criminalization, violence, and arrest. Ahmed will fight to build an immigration system that treats every person with dignity and respect through legislation to permanently protect Dreamers and TPS Holders, create an efficient pathway to citizenship for undocumented people living in the United States, build an asylum system that is more efficient and fair, and address the root causes of migration.

Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States - we cannot continue to prioritize the interests of the gun lobby over the lives of our children. In Congress, Ahmed will take action to address our nation’s gun violence epidemic by championing common-sense policies that would ban assault weapons, implement universal background checks, and ensure that gun owners store their firearms safely and securely.

Environmental justice is a racial justice and social justice issue that cannot be pushed aside until 2030, 2040, or 2050 – we must take action to reduce our emissions and tackle the climate crisis head on.

As our communities face the impacts of climate change in the form of intense droughts, devastating wildfires, stronger storms, and other severe weather events, the Green New Deal framework provides us with the tools we need to build on our historic climate investments and further a just transition to renewable energy in a way that advances equity for every community. Ahmed is committed to supporting legislation that addresses climate change from an intersectional lens – such as Rep. Bush’s Green New Deal for Cities, which would support cities and localities with the resources to respond to the climate crisis while empowering them to act in the best interests of their community.