Action 1: Protect 50,000 federal workers from politicized firings.
Thank you to the 382 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Time-sensitive action: the 30-day comment window closes on May 23. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has proposed a new rule that will reclassify 50,000 federal workers, making it easier to fire them for political reasons. This undermining of the nonpartisan civil service will erode Americans’ trust in our government.
Submit a comment: On the Federal Register (click the green box labeled “Submit a comment”) opposing the new rule before May 23. Use your own words (copy/paste content is rejected) to submit a unique comment about why this issue matters to you. Note: All submissions must include the agency name (“Office of Personnel Management”) and “Docket ID: OPM-2025-0004” or “RIN 3206-AO80” for this rulemaking.
Source: AoCC
Action 2: Tell your state’s education leaders to oppose censorship.
Thank you to the 241 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Look up your [STATE] Board of Education or Education Department to call, email, or send a postcard.
Script: Hi, my name is _____, and I’m contacting you from [CITY] to urge you to defend inclusive education. Our schools, communities, and society thrive when education is well-rounded and representative. Please refuse to comply with the president’s demand to censor the topics of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in our schools, and join the states suing him for threats to cut funding for low-income students to enforce this censorship. Thank you.
Source: Rogan’s List
Action 3: Encourage local schools to adopt a Safe Zone Resolution.
Thank you to the 67 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your local school board members (look up).
Script: Hello, my name is _____ and I’m a resident of [CITY/TOWN/LAND] urging you to implement a Safe Zone policy for all schools in our district. While schools are typically considered “sensitive locations” by DHS, ICE agents are now entering schools in traumatizing actions that target aspiring American staff and students—despite the legal guarantee of public education to all children in the U.S., regardless of citizenship status. Please join school districts across the nation in designating all [LOCALITY] schools as Safe Zones from ICE and DHS.
Source: National Education Association
Action 4: Support threatened federal workers.
Thank you to the 54 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Two legal groups are responding to the illegal firing of thousands of federal workers, and the many more facing job cuts, political retaliation, and illegal voiding of their existing union contracts. The Rise Up: Federal Workers Legal Defense Network connects volunteer lawyers with affected workers. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Federal Employee Defense (FED) Fund supports labor unions’ legal challenges to the administration’s attacks on the federal workforce.
Donate: To Rise Up to fund legal advice and representation for individual federal workers, and/or to the AFGE FED Fund to support unions’ legal challenges on behalf of the federal workforce.
Bonus: Do you know any lawyers? Point them to Rise Up, which is providing free training to lawyers willing to volunteer their time screening or consulting with affected federal workers.
Source: AoCC
Action 5: Bring a union worker home from a foreign prison.
Thank you to the 205 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, my name is _____ and I’m reaching out from [ZIP] to bring Kilmar Armando Abrego García home. If a court-protected U.S. resident and union worker can be deported to a horrific foreign prison without due process because of an “administrative error” and then abandoned by the U.S. government, the same could happen to any of us. [Sen./Rep. NAME] must publicly pressure the administration to bring Kilmar back to Maryland so he can receive constitutionally guaranteed due process.
Alternate: Use the SMART form to send a message to your members of Congress (click “Edit Subscription Preferences” to uncheck the box if you don’t want email updates).
Source: AFL-CIO
Action 6: Protect unaccompanied children from trafficking or exploitation.
Thank you to the 181 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, my name is _____, and I’m reaching out from [ZIP] in support of the Fair Day in Court for Kids Act (S. 1297). Since the administration stripped unaccompanied children of legal aid, over 26,000 children are struggling to navigate a system that is virtually impossible to understand without support. I’m calling on Sen. [NAME] to vote yes on S. 1297 and work across the aisle to restore legal assistance to solo children who seek safety in our nation.
Alternate: Use the KIND form to contact your senators (you may be subscribed to a mailing list).
Source: Kids in Need of Defense
Action 7: Protect the courts’ ability to defend civil rights.
Thank you to the 198 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators (write, call, or email).
Script: Hello, my name is ______ and I’m contacting you from [ZIP] to oppose the No Rogue Rulings Act of 2025 (H.R. 1526), which would undermine the courts’ constitutionally protected role in checking unlawful executive power. This bill would severely limit the courts’ ability to protect our civil rights by arbitrarily preventing judges from issuing nationwide injunctions to block government policies. Please vote “no” on this fundamental threat to the checks and balances our rights depend on.
Alternative: Use the ACLU form to contact your senators (uncheck the boxes to avoid receiving emails, texts, and calls).
Source: ACLU
Action 8: Prepare for the 2025 Elections.
Thank you to the 136 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Are you ready to vote for the over 100,000 seats up for election in 2025, including governors, municipal governments, school boards, and more.
- Confirm that your voter registration is still valid (or register to vote for the first time by your state’s deadline).
- Update your address or re-register if you’ve recently moved.
- Make a plan to vote by mail or in person.
- Find out who and what is on your ballot.
Source: Rock the Vote
Action 9: Help your aspiring American neighbors know their rights.
Thank you to the 22 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)’s Red Cards give examples of how people can exercise these rights and are available to print at home in a variety of languages.
Print: Red Cards in multiple languages using the Print Your Own section of the IRLC’s resource page.
Action 10: Have a hard, brave conversation.
Thank you to the 25 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Many Americans are starting to regret their November vote. Crossing Party Lines offers free classes about having brave conversations that build trust, a healthier democracy, and a shared future. Check this box if you’ve had an open, curious conversation with someone different from you in the past two weeks or plan to this week.
Source: Crossing Party Lines
Action 11: Take action in your own community.
Thank you to the 106 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 Latino leaders Janet Murguía, President and CEO of UnidosUS; Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice; Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation; Katharine Pichardo, President and CEO of Latino Victory Project; and Hector Sanchez Barba, President and CEO of Mi Familia Vota for their vocal opposition to the presidential administration’s refusal to return wrongfully deported Kilmar Abrego García.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses:
JM: 1126 16th St NW #600, Washington, DC 20036
VC: 1100 G St NW Ste 750, Washington, DC 20005
FM: 55 Exchange Place, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10005
KP: P.O. Box 34104, Washington, DC 20043
HSB: 3030 N. Central Avenue, Ninth Floor, Suite 900, Phoenix, AZ 85012
Thank you to the 162 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Thank Vineet Bhatia, Managing Partner at Susman Godfrey, for suing the presidential administration in response to a retaliatory executive order directing government agencies to terminate contracts with the firm.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 1000 Louisiana, Suite 5100, Houston, TX 77002-5096
Thank you to the 137 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Thank Lisa Held, Senior Staff Writer and Contributing Editor at Civil Eats, and her team for creating and maintaining the Food Policy Tracker, a go-to source for actions taken by the president, federal agencies, and Congress that directly relate to or have significant implications on our food system.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: P.O. Box 7014, Cotati, CA 94931
Thank you to the 130 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!
Progress on issues previously featured in the Checklist
- A federal court denies the Trump administration’s request to stay an injunction blocking its ban on transgender military service members.
- Mayors of big cities across the country embrace ranked choice voting.
Additional Good News
- US District Court mandates that ICE restore 133 international student visas and halts deportation proceedings.
- ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero is named to the TIME100 list for his commitment to America’s civil-liberties tradition.
- Harvard refuses to comply with a list of extraordinary demands from the Trump administration, asserting its academic independence and constitutional rights.
- The Associated Press wins reinstatement to White House events after a judge rules that the government cannot bar its journalists.
- Multnomah County, OR details successes, lessons, and next steps in the county’s ongoing implementation of ranked-choice voting.
- Oxford College elects members to its student government association using ranked-choice voting, a first in Emory University’s history.
- Maine lawmakers vote to keep statewide ranked choice voting in effect.
- Conservatives from across the country fill a ballroom near the White House to discuss how the U.S. is abandoning the ideals that forged the nation.
- A growing number of House Republicans defy party leadership and the president to oppose a harmful budget plan, signaling cracks in unified support for deep federal cuts.
- Pressure mounts for accountability, with bipartisan calls for an investigation after national security officials shared sensitive military details in a Signal chat.
- At town halls across the U.S., voters are holding lawmakers accountable, demanding transparency and opposing unpopular spending cuts.
- Planned Parenthood of AZ announces the continuation of gender-affirming care services after a brief pause to assess Medicaid funding threats.
- MI’s Supreme Court holds that mandatorily sentencing people under 21 to life without parole is unconstitutional under the state’s constitution.
- NYC: A two-year experiment with heat pumps in public housing has yielded excellent results, cutting bills in half and decreasing energy usage by 87 percent.
- In the wake of nationwide disasters, more healthcare providers are building solar microgrids to ensure power delivery.
- WA becomes the first U.S. state to pass landmark legislation expanding access to hormone therapy.
- Los Angeles schools superintendent says he’ll protect undocumented students “to the very end.”
- ME sues the presidential administration for retaliation after its refusal to comply with discriminatory order on trans youth in sports.
- WY: A judge blocks new abortion laws, clearing the way for a Casper clinic to resume services.
- MN: Lawmakers block a bill that would have given millions of dollars in funding to anti-abortion so-called “crisis pregnancy centers.”
- Construction begins on a 3-acre Aquaponics Farm & Training Center to train formerly incarcerated and other East Oakland, CA community members in aquaponic farming, nursery and orchard management, and culinary arts.
- Americans hold over 2,085 peaceful public protests in February 2025, doubling the number of protests that occurred in February of 2017 during the current president’s second month in office.
Need inspiration?
- They Played by the Rules. Then the Rules Changed: Read this week’s message from Jennifer Hofmann, AoCC’s Executive Director
- The Most Powerful Climate Tool
- Why Gratitude Belongs in Activism
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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.