This Week’s Actions
Action 1: Celebrate Voter Registration Day, September 16, 2025.
Thank you to the 232 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Celebrate National Voter Registration Day 2025 by making sure you’re ready for this year’s elections, and encouraging your friends to do the same. Even though it’s not a presidential or congressional election year, local elections will determine vital things like whether your city can build more housing, books stay on school shelves, or local governments assist ICE. Your vote matters!
- 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.
- 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: NonprofitVOTE
Action 2: Advocate for heat protections for farm workers.
Thank you to the 183 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] in support of S. 2298, the Asunción Valdivia Heat Illness, Injury, and Fatality Prevention Act of 2025. Farm workers are 35 times more likely to be killed by heat than any other civilian occupation, yet these low-paying industries have few federal worker protections in place. I’m calling on [Sen./Rep. NAME] to support S. 2298, which will help prevent heat-caused illness and death.
Source: United Farm Workers
Action 3: Protect your state’s voter rolls from federal overreach.
Thank you to the 156 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your state’s Secretary of State or chief election official (look up).
Script: Hello, my name is _____, contacting you from [ZIP] to urge you to follow Maine’s example and refuse to divulge [STATE]’s protected voter information to the Justice Department. The DOJ’s request for sensitive voter information violates the Privacy Act of 1974, and states need to affirm their constitutionally granted jurisdiction over elections. Please protect [STATE]’s voters from this illegal abuse of federal power. Thank you.
Source: Brennan Center
Action 4: Support proven solutions for the housing crisis.
Thank you to the 153 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (write, call, or email).
Script: Hello, my name is _____, and I’m reaching out from [ZIP], asking you to champion Homeless Assistance Grants. This administration’s July 24 executive order rejects the longstanding “housing first” approach embraced by experts, instead redirecting funds toward the forced incarceration of homeless people. Please act urgently to address the housing crisis by ensuring proven solutions are fully funded with a $4.922 billion appropriation in FY26.
Alternative: Use the NAEH Form (uncheck “Yes, sign me up for email updates”).
Action 5: Oppose the elimination of greenhouse gas regulation.
Thank you to the 104 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
The EPA proposes revoking the 2009 “Endangerment Finding,” the scientific determination that underpins the government’s legal authority to combat climate change. If approved, all regulations related to cutting greenhouse gas emissions from cars would be removed from tailpipe standards, making cities’ air more polluted. The EPA is required to take into consideration public comments before it finalizes any changes to this vital determination.
Submit a comment: Oppose this harmful rule change before September 15 through regulations.gov.
Source: Indigenous Environmental Network
Action 6: Support aspiring Americans in your community.
Thank you to the 77 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
The current administration has deployed more than 42,000 additional agents across the U.S. to increase immigration detention. These ICE raids have led to multiple cases of legally questionable arrests and wrongful detention of American citizens and lawful permanent residents. Learn your rights as a bystander during an ICE raid and how to help people by safely documenting their arrest.
- Watch: The We Have Rights video When Documenting ICE Arrests.
- Read: This infographic from Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network.
- Learn: The WITNESS checklist for Sharing Videos of Immigration Enforcement.
- Learn further: We Have Rights and Eyes on ICE.
Source: AoCC
Action 7: Advocate for unaccompanied children living in the U.S.
Thank you to the 114 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hi, my name is _____, and I’m reaching out from [ZIP] to urge you to take immediate action in response to the administration’s decision to remove hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan children from the U.S. without notice. Expelling these kids is dangerous and inhumane and violates federal law, which requires minors to have access to legal counsel and limited removal processes. I’m asking [Sen./Rep. NAME] to publicly condemn these removals, investigate the administration’s actions, champion accountability, and support families in our district who may be at risk.
Source: National Immigration Law Center
Action 8: Expose the corruption of U.S. immigration proceedings.
Thank you to the 37 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
The Sidewalk School was founded to provide educational opportunities for those facing displacement in the Matamoros Encampment, a refugee camp that formed at the U.S. and Mexico border. But now, with no children left in the shelters they once served, they’ve shifted their focus to the U.S. side, working to ensure legal observers can attend immigration removal proceedings, expose constitutional rights violations, and shine a light on how our nation’s immigration policies affect individuals, families, and communities.
Donate: to help The Sidewalk School reach their fundraising goal of $20,000 so they may keep doing this important work.
Source: The Sidewalk School
Action 9: Support diversity and inclusion in your state universities.
Thank you to the 22 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your state’s land-grant university (look up).
Script: Hello, my name is _____, and I’m calling from [CITY] to ask you to affirm your commitment to supporting students from diverse backgrounds. Land-grant universities were chartered to serve all the people in their states, and studies show that not only does exposure to diversity reduce bias and improve communication, but companies with diverse workforces are more profitable. Please tell me what steps you are taking to promote inclusion and diversity in your student body. Thank you.
Source: Black Voters Matter Fund
Action 10: Hold Kristi Noem and ICE accountable.
Thank you to the 131 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hi, my name is _____, and I’m reaching out from [ZIP] to urge an investigation into Kristi Noem’s unethical actions as DHS Secretary. Secretary Noem has shown a consistent pattern of unconstitutional overreach, endangerment of U.S. citizens, and blatant violations of civil rights under her leadership. I join more than 70 national and regional organizations in calling on [Sen./Rep. NAME] to investigate DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and hold her accountable for her actions.
Bonus: Complete this NILC form to demand Congress conduct ICE oversight (uncheck “I’d like to subscribe to NILC’s email list”).
Source: Mi Familia Vota
Action 11: Ban congressional insider trading.
Thank you to the 99 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, my name is _____, contacting you from [ZIP], urging you to co-sponsor and pass legislation banning stock ownership by members of Congress. Regardless of political affiliation, 86% of Americans support such a ban, and both the Senate’s HONEST (Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions) Act (S. 1498) and the House’s Restore Trust in Congress Act (H.R. 5106) have strong bipartisan support. Please put an end to the ability of congress members to profit from privileged information, and pass this legislation. Thank you.
Source: Brennan Center, Campaign Legal Center
Action 12: Show welcome to people seeking refuge here.
Thank you to the 13 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
The current administration is denying people seeking refuge in the U.S., cutting funding for resettlement programs, increasing immigration raids in protected cities, and excluding many aspiring Americans from food-stamp and healthcare eligibility. That means it’s up to us to make sure our neighbors know they’re welcome as they work to rebuild their lives here. Show your support by putting together a Global Refuge Neighbor Kit.
Build your kit: Put together any of the following: a Youth Mentorship Kit, a Community Garden Kit, a Home & Kitchen Kit, and/or a Health & Wellness Kit. Then, register it with Global Refuge for information on shipping to where it’s needed.
Source: Global Refuge
Action 13: Restore civil servants’ union rights.
Thank you to the 90 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your one House representative (call, write, or email).
Script: Hello, my name is _____, contacting you from [ZIP], urging you to restore federal workers’ right to organize. The bipartisan Protect America’s Workforce Act (H.R. 2550) would nullify two presidential executive orders that illegally stripped more than one million federal employees of their collective bargaining rights. I ask you to sign H.Res 432 to bring this bill to a floor vote, and then vote Yes on H.R. 2550. Thank you.
Source: AFGE
Action 14: Have a hard, brave conversation.
Thank you to the 17 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
A functioning democracy requires communication. Crossing Party Lines offers free classes about brave conversations that build trust, a healthier democracy, and a shared future. Check this box if you plan to have an open, curious conversation with someone different from you in the next two weeks.
Source: Crossing Party Lines
Action 15: Get credit for taking action in your own community.
Thank you to the 81 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 Texas State Rep. Nicole Collier (D) for demonstrating her commitment to democratic principles in the face of undignified demands by the House Speaker.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 101 S. Jennings, Suite 103A, Fort Worth, TX 76104
Thank you to the 139 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Thank Sen. Jon Ossoff (D–GA) for launching an investigation into human rights abuses within U.S. immigration detention.
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 144 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.
- The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rules that the administration’s attempt to rapidly deport U.S residents from Venezuela by invoking an 18th-century law is in fact unlawful.
- Accurate passports for many transgender, nonbinary, and intersex travelers remain available following a federal appeals court decision.
- About 600,000 U.S. residents from Venezuela and about 500,000 from Haiti can remain in the U.S. following a district court ruling upholding their Temporary Protected Status.
- A federal district court rules that the presidential administration must reverse cuts of $2.6B in research funds for Harvard University, finding that the funding cuts amount to illegal political retaliation against the school.
- CA, OR, and WA form an alliance to set their own vaccine recommendations independent of the politicized CDC.
- MA becomes the first state to mandate insurance coverage of vaccines recommended by the state-level department of public health.
- MO eliminates a “luxury tax” on diapers and menstrual products, cutting discriminatory costs affecting parents, women, and people with periods.
- MO residents gather in the thousands at the Kansas City Capitol to protest undemocratic gerrymandering attempts by the state legislature.
- Mayor Brandon Johnson signs an executive order outlining how the city will protect community members and resist the presidential administration’s threats to immigrant Chicagoans.
- Ciara Smith is elected mayor of Anniston, AL, becoming the youngest and first Black person to serve in the position.
- Despite threats of funding cuts from the federal Dept. of Education, the Loudoun County Public School Board votes to uphold its gender-affirming bathroom policy and support the rights of the district’s transgender and nonbinary students in compliance with current Virginia law.
- Delray Beach, FL’s city commission votes to keep their rainbow Pride crosswalks intact rather than comply with state-level directives to remove them.
- The Love Thy Neighbor Project encourages LGBTQ-inclusive outdoor art in Florida neighborhoods in the face of state censorship.
- Federal employees at the Yosemite and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks vote to unionize and join the National Federation of Federal Employees.
- Los Angeles residents support their immigrant neighbors through mutual aid such as fundraisers, grocery deliveries, and rapid-response groups in the face of ICE’s threatening presence in their communities.
- Sabrina Carpenter shows support for transgender people’s rights during her Video Music Awards performance.
Need inspiration?
- Read the latest message from AoCC’s Founder and Director, Jennifer Hofmann: What Happens When We Refuse to Give Up
- 5 Signs Our Democracy Can Heal
- How Did We Get Here—and How Do We Get Out of This?
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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.