This Week’s Actions
Action 1: Time sensitive: Before September 28, defend due process rights for people seeking safety.
Time to complete: Less than 5 minutes
Thank you to the 158 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
For decades, asylum has been a foundation of U.S. law. Before July 28, a person seeking asylum could sit with a trained asylum officer and explain, in a non-adversarial setting, the violence and persecution they fled. However, the administration recently published a rule allowing USCIS to refer people seeking safety to immigration court for removal proceedings, without ever speaking to them about their need for protection. This is a blatant violation of due process for people fleeing persecution, placing them at direct risk of detention, deportation back to the place they are trying to escape, or disappearance to a third country. Please demand justice for people seeking asylum.
Express your opposition: Submit a public comment in your own words on the Federal Register.
Alternate: Submit your comment using the HRF direct action link. (Please note that by submitting your comment via this link, you agree to receive emails from HRF.)
Source: Human Rights First
Action 2: Time sensitive: Preserve early childhood education and support.
Thank you to the 153 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 writing to oppose proposed regulatory changes to Head Start that could undermine access to educational support and health screenings, especially impacting children with disabilities and rural communities. Head Start fosters stable home environments, improving health, educational status, and well-being. Please oppose changes to early education to serve the families that need it most.
Bonus: Submit a public comment in your own words on the Federal Register by October 6, 2026, using or modifying the requests below in your own words:
- Keep enough teachers for every group of children, and pay for the ratios programs already choose today.
- Preserve the early identification and individualized support that help children with disabilities.
- Let programs build children’s English skills while still communicating with families in a language they understand.
- Keep a safe, dignified path to enroll for families who are homeless, fleeing abuse, or without easy access to paperwork.
- Protect real parent decision-making power—not just the chance to give input—through the Policy Council and Parent Committees.
- Keep the career pathways and coaching that help parents move from classroom aide to credentialed early educator.
Source: Moms Rising
Action 3: Participate in a national day of early voting awareness.
Time to complete: Variable based on options. Less than 10 minutes to 1 day
Thank you to the 68 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
October 17 will be a national nonpartisan day of action centered around voting early. There are many ways to participate and spread the message that power belongs to the people, even if you can’t host or attend a live event:
- In the weeks leading up to October 17, join one of the many online training sessions (or watch recorded sessions [scroll down]) on getting out the vote, understanding voting rights, poll watching, and more.
- Make a plan to vote.
- Share No Kings: Vote Early graphics on social media.
Source: No Kings, 50501, Black Voters Matter Fund
Action 4: Prevent voter suppression in 2026 elections.
Time to complete: Less than 10 minutes
Thank you to the 107 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Voter suppression looms large, but you have some control. Take a moment today to ensure that you can vote in the general election on November 3.
- Confirm that your voter registration is still valid (or register to vote by your state’s deadline; if you’re turning 18 before November 3, you may be able to pre-register).
- 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.
- Text this link to three friends to ask them to register to vote: https://www.voterparticipation.org/my-voter-info. Studies show that people are more likely to vote if they are encouraged by someone they know.
Source: 1-866-OUR-VOTE
Action 5: Take credit for showing up in your own community.
Thank you to the 90 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 Waltham, MA Mayor Jeannette McCarthy for protecting the privacy of her constituents in the face of widespread surveillance by Flock cameras.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Office of the Mayor, City Hall Second Floor, 610 Main St., Waltham, MA 02452
Thank you to the 88 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 federal appeals court upholds a previous ruling finding the administration’s policy of swiftly deporting people to countries they are not from to be unlawful.
- A federal court finds that the administration’s order for FEMA to cut its staffing nearly in half was against the law.
- A U.S. District Court orders the U.S. Forest Service to suspend a commercial logging project in the Shawnee National Forest, finding that approval of the project violated the Endangered Species Act.
- The District Circuit Court for Columbia overturns the administration’s order to keep an old coal plant in Michigan open past its scheduled closure.
- CA: A federal court blocks immigration personnel from arresting residents without warrants in the southern region of the state.
- MS: A federal appeals court formally puts back into effect a ruling upholding the state’s five-day grace period for counting ballots arriving after Election Day with appropriate postmarking.
- TX’s Supreme Court rules against implementation of a vote-suppressing redistricting plan for Galveston County created after the state’s March primaries, finding that districts cannot be redrawn between a primary and general election.
- Flock surveillance cameras around Waltham, MA are now covered with black plastic bags per order of the mayor.
- The city of Denver sues the DHS and ICE to keep armed immigration agents away from polling places this November.
- Several immigrant rights organizations file a federal lawsuit against the DHS to prevent the agency’s practice of conducting warrantless immigration arrests of Maryland residents.
- Native bee populations grow 20-fold after Minnesota solar farms turned the ground beneath their panels into pollinator-friendly habitats.
- For the first time in history, the United Nations achieves gender parity across all senior leadership, all headquarters, and all professional staff.
Need inspiration?
- Read the latest message from AoCC‘s Founder and Director, Jennifer Hofmann: Choosing Democracy Series: In Sickness and in Health, Part 1: Seek To Understand: America’s Complicated, Hopeful Past and Present
- When You’ve Had Enough, Start Here.
- We’re Bigger Than the Headlines
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You’re Invited
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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.