“I feel extremely disillusioned,” said 26-year-old first-time voter Sara Ahmed* days before the next US presidential election on November 5. “It feels like there are two sides of the same coin at this point.”

With the 60th presidential election approaching, the Pakistani American community faces a dilemma — to vote for a system they distrust or risk empowering candidates they fear may exacerbate the situation in Gaza and the Middle East.

Ahmed is one of many young Pakistani Americans who will vote to decide the fate of American political leadership for the next four years. But seeing the crisis in Gaza and the US’ hand in it, many voters with an immigrant background feel their perspectives and concerns are increasingly being sidelined by both major political parties.

Through a series of interviews, young Pakistani Americans told Images how current US government policies, particularly in the Middle East, are shaping their views on the upcoming election. Their voices form a political identity that is often conflicted and now increasingly skeptical of both Republican and Democratic leadership.

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