This Week’s Actions
Action 1: Insist on congressional oversight of military action in Venezuela.
Thank you to the 447 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], calling to express my deep unease at the president’s illegal invasion of Venezuela, which blatantly violates both the Constitution and the War Powers Act of 1973. The president has ignored legal requirements to consult with and report to Congress before and after authorizing military action. Congress failed to pass two previous bipartisan resolutions that would have forestalled this conflict, so I am asking you to demand a full briefing, assert Congress’s constitutional authority, and exercise meaningful oversight over these actions, beginning with passing S.J.Res 98. Thank you.
Source: Brennan Center, Common Cause
Add your name before Tuesday, January 13:
Americans of Conscience Checklist will send a letter to the Senate’s majority and minority leaders, and the House’s speaker and majority and minority leaders, demanding action on this issue.
Thank you to the 716 Americans of Conscience who signed this letter!
Action 2: Demand that ICE agents unmask now.
Thank you to the 446 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], and I’m outraged that masked, armed ICE agents continue to terrorize our communities with complete anonymity. Among other egregious acts, federal agents have smashed car windows, blown the door off of a home with children inside, and shot into a family vehicle, while their anonymity has enabled impersonators to commit crimes. Please take urgent action to curb ICE’s abuses, combat executive overreach, and demand that ICE agents unmask now.
Alternate: Use the Leadership Conference’s petition to demand reform.
Action 3: Demand that Congress Stop ICE Expansion.
Thank you to the 391 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], and I’m alarmed by the administration’s expansion of ICE. Its budget now exceeds that of most militaries, and ICE is targeting, detaining, and deporting unprecedented numbers of people, many with no criminal records. Nationwide, people are uniting to protect their neighbors against ICE’s violations of human rights. I urge you to join them by cutting funding to ICE, opposing detention expansion, and advocating for the release of those in detention.
Bonus: Sign Detention Watch Network’s petition to send additional letters to your representatives.
Source: Detention Watch Network
Action 4: Defend the health and rights of veterans.
Thank you to the 75 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Postcard to: Dr. Steven L. Lieberman
Acting Under Secretary for Health
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20420
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], expressing my concern about the abortion ban implemented by the Department of Veterans Affairs in response to a recent DOJ memo. This policy removes access to counseling and care even in cases of rape and incest and disproportionately affects those in states with existing bans. I urge you to oppose the DOJ directive by reversing this ban, protecting the health of all those who have served our country.
Source: AoCC
Action 5: Defend voting by mail in your state.
Thank you to the 146 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Voting by mail is secure, convenient, cost-effective, and proven to increase voter turnout. Even if your state already has universal mail voting, the safety and availability of voting by mail is under attack nationwide. Use Secure Democracy’s tool to email or call your state legislators to urge them to reject any attempts to restrict or eliminate access to mail voting.
Bonus: A new post office rule may affect when your mail ballot gets postmarked, so look up the ballot return deadline in your state’s upcoming primary election so you can be sure to mail your ballot early.
Action 6: Prohibit unjust travel bans.
Thank you to the 181 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], and I’m appalled by the dramatic expansion of Trump’s notorious travel ban, which will now target 39 countries. The urgently needed NO BAN Act (S. 398/H.R. 924) would prohibit all presidents from imposing travel bans that target individuals based on religion or national origin and require that restrictions be justified with credible evidence and consultation with Congress. Please stop this cruel and senseless attack on vulnerable people by ensuring passage of this landmark bill now.
Alternate: Use the Stop AAPI Hate petition to urge passage of this vital bill. Uncheck the box to receive email updates.
Source: Stop AAPI Hate
Action 7: Protect youth from automatic incarceration in adult jails.
Thank you to the 42 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Charging juveniles as adults doesn’t improve public safety and can harm youth, some as young as 14 years old and disproportionately people of color. Youth incarcerated in adult jails are placed at risk of trauma, neglect, and physical and sexual abuse.
Action: (Approximately 20 minutes)
Research: Review the Sentencing Project’s recommendations for reducing gun-based violence among teens.
Research: View map of US states (and DC) that require people under 21 to be automatically charged in adult court for certain crimes.
If your state does automatically charge youth as adults, contact your state legislator and express concern about the practice of auto-charging. Ask them to support or introduce legislation that would:
- End automatic charging and begin processing all cases involving youth under 18 in juvenile court.
- Ensure that decisions to send youth to adult court are always reviewed by a judge, ideally in juvenile court.
If your state does not have automatic charging provisions, ask your state legislators to strengthen judicial reviews before charging youth as adults, ensuring that decisions to send youth to adult court are always reviewed by a judge, preferably in juvenile court.
Source: AoCC
Action 8: Empower teens to vote.
Thank you to the 13 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Teens 18 and under in your family or circle of friends.
The voter registration rate for 18-year-olds is less than 30% nationwide, compared to 75% of Americans aged 45 and up. With many states allowing voter preregistration for 16- and 17-year-olds, nearly every high school student can register by the time they graduate. Young voters do turn out to vote at high rates once they are registered, so getting more high schoolers to register is crucial.
Take action: Ask teens to register to vote or preregister now so they will be automatically registered as of their 18th birthday. Even better, ask them to host a voter registration drive at their school this spring.
Source: The Civics Center
Action 9: Practice essential democracy skills.
Thank you to the 37 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Open conversations are the lifeblood of democracy. Authoritarian leaders promote divisiveness to discourage the people from building mutual understanding and respect. Help revive our democracy by practicing active listening and civil debate. As support for this administration and its harmful policies wanes, you can be a part of reuniting our nation.
Will you practice better democracy? Participate in groups like Braver Angels, Crossing Party Lines, Make America Dinner Again, or Reunited States of America.
Source: AoCC
Action 10: Take credit for showing up in your own community.
Thank you to the 167 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
It’s our hope that using the Checklist inspires you to become more involved in specific issues and/or local action. In the last two weeks, did you volunteer, do service, advocate, or support a local or state cause? Check the box to let us know!
Source: AoCC
Acts of Gratitude
We believe in gratitude as a tool for change. We will print a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience with your signature and mail it to the recipient. Your information will be removed from this website no later than four weeks after the Checklist’s publication date.
Thank Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) for promptly sharing accurate information when an ICE officer fatally shot legal observer Renee Nicole Good, in contrast to the Homeland Security secretary’s false statements about the sequence of events.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses:
TW: Office of the Governor, 130 State Capitol, 75 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, MN 55155
JF: Office of the Mayor, City Hall, 350 S. Fifth St., Room 330, Minneapolis, MN 55415
Thank you to the 299 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
Good news: Wins for democracy, equality, kindness, and planet.
- A U.S. district court temporarily bars the administration from ending protected status for people from South Sudan living in the U.S.
- A federal court temporarily blocks ICE from enforcing rules restricting congressional oversight visits to immigration detention facilities.
- Following a lawsuit brought by agency scientists, the National Institutes of Health will review arbitrarily denied grant applications intended to address urgent public health issues such as HIV prevention, Alzheimer’s disease, LGBTQ+ health, and sexual violence.
- The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the administration cannot cut federal NIH funding to universities engaged in scientific and medical research.
- A U.S. court in Washington, DC rules that immigration enforcement cannot make arrests in the nation’s capital without warrants or probable cause that a person is an imminent flight risk.
- A district court in Boston blocks the administration from cutting Medicaid funds for Planned Parenthood in 22 states.
- A federal court rules that the administration cannot defund the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ensuring agency employees will get paid.
- SCOTUS upholds a lower court ruling blocking the administration from deploying National Guard members to the Chicago area.
- Following a court order, National Guard members unlawfully deployed to Los Angeles leave the city.
- Abortion will remain legal in Wyoming after the state Supreme Court struck down anti-abortion laws—including the country’s first explicit ban on abortion medication—that violated a state constitutional amendment
- A Hilton hotel in Minneapolis cancels immigration agents’ reservations rather than enable their presence in the community.
- Takoma Park, MD residents gather daily to protest the presence of ICE agents using a local lot for parking.
- Kilmar Abrego Garcia spends Christmas at home with his family, following a temporary restraining order barring ICE from re-detaining him.
- A jury finds tow truck driver Bobby Nuñez not guilty on charges of stealing an ICE vehicle.
- A growing number of artists cancel their planned events at the Kennedy Center in protest after the president’s name was unlawfully added to the building and organization without congressional approval.
- Protestors across the U.S. and around the world gather to denounce U.S. military actions in Venezuela.
Need inspiration?
- The Day the Phones Changed History
- Amy’s Story: How One Citizen’s Efforts Kept Local Democracy Alive, by AoCC volunteer Julie Mathison
- Signs of Renewal in a Weary Nation
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The Americans of Conscience Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and decency. We are a big tent for all people who want a kinder, flourishing nation.
Thank you all for your efforts to stop these pervasive attacks on Americans