This Week’s Actions
Action 1: Demand oversight of federal vanity projects.
Thank you to the 192 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
The Trump administration is advancing expensive renovation projects connected to the White House and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool while many Americans are struggling with inflation and rising housing, food, and healthcare costs. Critics have raised concerns about excessive spending, limited oversight, and efforts to bypass normal review procedures for historic public spaces. Urge Congress to oppose these vanity projects as out of touch with this economic moment and enforce federal budgeting and bidding standards.
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m _____ from [ZIP], and concerned about renovation projects connected to the White House and Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, especially while many American taxpayers are struggling with inflation and rising costs. I urge [Sen./Rep. NAME] to oppose luxury renovation spending, prioritize the real economic needs of ordinary Americans, and ensure that federal projects are subject to oversight and standard bidding procedures. Congress must assert its authority by demanding accountability for spending taxpayer dollars.
Source: AoCC
Action 2: Oppose nomination of Benjamin Flowers to federal court of appeals.
Thank you to the 172 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], asking you to oppose the nomination of Benjamin Flowers to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. As Ohio’s former Solicitor General, Flowers compared gender-affirming care to the eugenics movement, has defended abortion bans subjecting doctors to felony charges, and supports gutting the Voting Rights Act. Ensure his extreme views and history of bias do not shape the law for millions of Americans by rejecting his nomination.
Alternate: Use the NWLC letter to oppose Flowers’ nomination. (Uncheck the box to receive email updates.)
Source: National Women’s Law Center
Action 3: Oppose the practice of warehousing aspiring Americans.
Thank you to the 149 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], expressing my strong support for the Ban Warehouse Detention Act (S. 3927/H.R. 8494). This legislation aims to stop the DHS and ICE from operating industrial warehouses as immigrant detention centers. Many local communities object to detention centers and investigations confirm human rights violations—including the abuse of pregnant women and children—in existing detention centers nationwide. Eighteen people have died in ICE custody so far this year. Please support this potentially life-saving legislation.
Source: Detention Watch Network and AoCC
Action 4: Demand that Congress end ICE funding.
Thank you to the 107 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], urging you to oppose funding ICE through the current reconciliation process and to revoke the billions of dollars given through last summer’s reconciliation process. Instead of working to address the spike of deaths among those in ICE detention, Congress is pushing through a partisan blueprint to give an additional $70 billion to ICE and CBP. This legislation puts vulnerable children in danger of torture. Please stubbornly oppose this harmful funding.
Source: National Immigration Law Center
Action 5: Get ready for all 2026 elections.
Thank you to the 104 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Nothing is certain. Ensure that you and your neighbors are ready to vote in your state’s primary election and the general election on November 3.
- 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, whether early or on Election Day.
- If you plan to vote by mail, check your state’s ballot return deadline.
- If you plan to vote in person, check your state’s requirements for voter ID (these may have changed).
- Find out who and what is on your ballot.
- Ask two friends to register to vote or to verify their registrations. Studies show that people are more likely to vote if they are encouraged by someone they know.
Source: 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Action 6: Give Dreamers a path to citizenship.
Thank you to the 91 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], expressing my strong support for the DREAM Act of 2025 (S. 3348). Hundreds of thousands of youth are living in uncertainty, facing the constant threat of deportation. DACA renewal delays are spiking. And due to these delays, many DACA recipients are at risk of losing their jobs. Please co-sponsor and pass legislation to ensure these valuable members of our society can safely remain and thrive in this country.
Source: National Immigration Law Center
Action 7: Shine light on the SCOTUS shadow docket.
Thank you to the 107 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and your one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], asking you to co-sponsor and pass the Shadow Docket Sunlight Act of 2025 (H.R. 6816/S. 3533). The Supreme Court’s emergency or “shadow” docket overturns decades of precedent by operating without public hearings, signed opinions, or judicial reasoning. It has ruled in the current administration’s favor the vast majority of the time. The nation’s highest court should be required to provide explanations and vote counts for these decisions. Thank you.
Source: Brennan Center
Action 8: Defend the right to a fair and speedy trial.
Thank you to the 86 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!his action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], expressing support for the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act (H.R. 7836). The immigration courts are in crisis, with a backlog of 3.3 million cases. The administration fired more than 100 veteran immigration judges and replaced them with “deportation judges” with little experience. The administration is also shutting down local courts amid a deportation push. Please support this immigration court reform to increase accountability and uphold the right of due process.
Source: AILA
Action 9: Act locally: Advocate for the right to vote in your state.
Thank you to the 21 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
If you live in AZ, IL, IA, MN, MO, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, or UT, your state has introduced legislation that restricts voter access. Find the bill number(s) in this tracker (tip: Click the “state” column header to sort the list in alphabetical order by state) and contact your two state legislators (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m ______ from [ZIP], asking you to oppose harmful voter-suppression legislation. Please vote NO on [BILL # FROM TRACKER] to preserve voting rights for everyone in [STATE]. Thank you.
If you live elsewhere: Donate to the Voting Rights Lab to support their nonpartisan legislation tracker and voting-rights advocacy.
Source: AoCC, Voting Rights Lab
Action 10: Take credit for showing up in your own community.
Thank you to the 88 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 Sen. Jon Ossoff (D–GA) for advocating for access to safe and appropriate medical and mental health care for pregnant minors immigrating to the U.S.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Hart SOB, Suite 317, Washington, DC 20510
Thank you to the 260 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Thank the Fulton County, GA Board of Registration and Elections for challenging a DOJ order demanding the names and contact information of election employees and volunteers who worked the 2020 election.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Chairperson Sherri Allen, Fulton County Registration and Elections Board, 5600 Campbellton Fairburn Rd., Fairburn, GA 30213
Thank you to the 239 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.
- An especially inhumane immigration detention camp in Florida will be dismantled in June.
- The Senate votes to advance a war powers resolution to force the president to end the war in Iran unless Congress authorizes it to continue.
- A U.S. district court temporarily blocks the Federal Trade Commission’s investigation into two medical groups supporting gender-affirming care for transgender youth, citing “extensive evidence of animus.”
- The U.S. Court of International Trade rules that the president’s implementation of 10% global tariffs is unlawful, similar to other global tariffs struck down by SCOTUS earlier this year.
- A federal court rules that the termination of hundreds of humanities grants by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency were unlawful and discriminatory.
- The nonpartisan Senate parliamentarian finds that a $1B taxpayer-funded proposal for unnecessary White House renovations fails to meet procedural rules.
- AZ: A federal district court dismisses a DOJ lawsuit seeking Arizonans’ detailed voter records.
- CO’s Supreme Court orders the Children’s Hospital Colorado to resume gender-affirming care for patients.
- HI passes legislation to reduce the influence of corporations and dark money groups’ unlimited spending on elections.
- KS: A state district court temporarily blocks a state ban on gender-affirming health care for young transgender patients.
- MD prohibits state and local jurisdictions from deputizing police officers for ICE operations.
- RI: A federal court rules against a DOJ subpoena seeking the medical records of transgender youth treated at Rhode Island Hospital.
- VA passes a slate of gun control legislation, including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
- Spokane, WA allocates $100,000 to boost an emergency fund serving families and individuals impacted by ICE activity.
- Allan Michael Marrero reunites with his husband and their supportive community after five months in ICE detention.
- For the first time in city history, the San Antonio City Council officially recognizes May 4-10 as Trans History Week.
- Following consumer backlash, Amazon will not integrate Flock surveillance technology into its Ring smart doorbells.
- As part of the National Day of Action for Voting Rights, activists, civil rights leaders, clergy, and lawmakers rally in Alabama in protest of legislative redistricting deliberately designed to dilute Black voters’ voice.
- Transgender and nonbinary youth find community and a break from constant scrutiny at the carefully protected summer camp Transcending Adolescence.
- The Cultural Landscape Foundation sues the current president for violating the National Historic Preservation Act during his Reflecting Pool renovation.
Need inspiration?
- Read the latest message from AoCC’s Founder and Director, Jennifer Hofmann: 15-Minute Challenge: Swap News Time for Action
- I Was Wrong About Voting
- Spring is showing up–and so can we!
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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.