Impact Docket – 04/01/26

Written By Zenab Youssef

Whether you have 2 minutes or 2 days, join the fight. Keep reading for more context.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE IMPACT DOCKET

🔴 The Moment We're In: Day 46 and No End in Sight

The DHS shutdown is now the longest in American history. The Senate passed a deal at 2 AM last Friday to fund most of DHS without ICE. House Republicans rejected it hours later and passed their own version. Both chambers left for a two-week recess with nothing resolved — meaning the shutdown won't end before Day 58 at the earliest. Over 500 TSA officers have quit. Trump declared a national emergency to pay TSA workers rather than pressure his own party to make a deal. Congress is on vacation.

Meanwhile, the administration is using the rulemaking process to quietly reshape who gets to practice law ethically, which organizations deserve federal funding, and whether asylum seekers can work. Comment deadlines are approaching on all three — and L4GG has the recordings, templates, and trainings to help you submit comments that become part of the legal record.

This week's docket has nine actions — from donating miles to get a lawyer into a detention center to training on how the False Claims Act is being weaponized against nonprofits to telling us if you'd show up to protect the vote in Michigan. Pick one. Start there.

⚡ QUICK ACTIONS

✈️ Donate Your Miles or Points: Send a Lawyer to a Detention Center

📍 L4GG.org/TravelFund 

Over 5,000 people are detained at Fort Bliss — most without legal representation. More than 150 attorneys have said they're ready to travel to help. The biggest barrier? Getting them there.

L4GG's Travel Fund turns your unused frequent flyer miles, hotel points, or credit card rewards into flights for volunteer attorneys deploying through our Detention Bridge program. Your miles send lawyers to conduct legal intakes, represent people in bond hearings, file habeas petitions, and deliver Know Your Rights presentations.

Donate miles or points | Donate by credit card

🗳️ Could You Help Protect the Vote in Michigan?

📍 L4GG.org/MIVolunteer

L4GG is in early conversations with a leading Michigan voting rights organization about deploying volunteer attorneys as election protection volunteers this fall. We're not ready to announce a formal partnership yet — but we want to gauge interest now so we can assess how to move forward.

If we launch, opportunities would include remote hotline shifts for Michigan's nonpartisan voter protection line, in-person poll monitoring at polling places and early voting sites, and post-election canvass monitoring during county-level certification. Some roles are open to anyone; others require being a registered Michigan voter or willingness to travel. Trainings will be provided.

Fill out our 2-minute interest form — it helps us understand what our community can realistically offer!

 

📩 SHORT-TERM ENGAGEMENT — Live Events & Trainings

🛡️ TOMORROW - Know Your Risks: Navigating ICE Encounters as an Attorney 

📍 L4GG.org/ICE | Wednesday, April 2 | 1:00 PM ET

ICE enforcement is escalating — and so are the risks for attorneys on the front lines. Join L4GG and the National Lawyers Guild for a training focused on navigating interactions with ICE, understanding the broader landscape of federal repression, potential criminal exposure, and practical guidance for attorneys engaging in this work.

Whether you're already doing this work or preparing to step in, this session will equip you with the tools and context you need.

🏛️ Pro Bono Training: Protecting Grantees Against the False Claims Act 

📍 L4GG.org/FCATraining | Wednesday, April 8 | 11:00 AM ET 

The administration has signaled it will use the False Claims Act to punish organizations for DEI activities — putting nonprofits, municipalities, states, and tribes at risk of devastating legal liability for doing lawful work. This is not hypothetical. Grantees are already asking what their exposure is.

Join L4GG on 4/8 for a training equipping pro bono attorneys to help grantees navigate FCA risk through our Fund Protection Clinic. You'll learn the background of the FCA, how the administration plans to weaponize it, and how to assist organizations coming through L4GG with questions about their potential liability.

⚖️ Submit a Comment: Stop DOJ from Shielding Its Lawyers from Ethics Accountability

📍 L4GG.org/DOJCommentTraining | Comment deadline: April 6

The DOJ published a proposed rule that would allow the Attorney General to intercept and indefinitely delay state bar investigations of DOJ attorneys — a direct assault on the disciplinary framework that holds all lawyers accountable.

We hosted a live comment training with the National Women's Law Center. Here's how to take action:

  1. Watch the recording and/or access our comment template

  2. Submit your comment via the Federal Register by April 6, 2026

  3. Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment.

🏭 Submit a Comment: Protect Families from Industrial Chemical Disasters

📍Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: April 10

The EPA is proposing to gut the Risk Management Program — stripping third-party audits, removing "stop work" authority for employees during emergencies, and limiting the public's ability to know what hazardous chemicals are stored next to their schools and homes.

To fight back effectively, we need substantive comments that build a legal record the EPA is forced to address. Here’s how you can take action

  1. Read L4GG’s Comment Template & draft your comment.

  2. Submit your comment via the Federal Register by April 10, 2026.

  3. Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment.

📋 Submit a Comment: Defend Work Permits for Asylum Seekers

📍Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: April 24

A proposed federal rule would effectively prevent many asylum seekers from obtaining work authorization. Given current processing times, this would lock countless asylum seekers out of work authorization indefinitely - USCIS itself estimates it could take 14 to 173 years to resume accepting applications.

Here's how to take action:

  1. Use the comment templates for individuals or organizations 

  2. Submit your comment via the Federal Register by April 24, 2026

  3. Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment.

 

🛠️ LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT

⚖️ Organize a Law Day of Action Event on May 1

📍 LawDayofAction.org/organize

On May 1, legal professionals across America will gather at courthouses to publicly retake their oaths. Last year, Law Day mobilized 10,000+ lawyers in 50+ cities. This year, we need events in more cities — and you can make that happen.

Here's what you need: a courthouse, 30 minutes, and the willingness to show up.That's it. No budget, no committee, no event planning experience. L4GG provides everything else — a messaging toolkit, sample run-of-show, graphics, press outreach, and direct staff support.

🗣️ Volunteer as an Interpreter at Work Permit Clinics

📍 L4GG.org/PCInterestForm

Asylum seekers need stability — and a work permit is a vital step toward rebuilding their lives. That's why L4GG runs virtual work permit clinics where volunteer attorneys help asylum seekers navigate the application process. But many of our clients speak limited English, and without interpreters, we can't serve them.

We're seeking fluent Spanish-speaking interpreters to volunteer at upcoming virtual clinics on April 16 and April 22. No legal experience is needed — just fluency in Spanish and a willingness to help someone through one of the most important moments in their case.

Fill out our interest form at L4GG.org/PCInterestForm

 

🎉 Community Impact: This Is What Showing Up Looks Like

In March, we hosted 10 events across comment trainings, attorney skill-building sessions, and community organizing calls - and 1,800 people registered!

You showed up to learn how to submit public comments that build the legal record on proposed rules targeting nonprofits, asylum seekers, and attorney accountability. You showed up to train for Detention Bridge deployments. You showed up to learn how to organize a Law Day event in your city. And on Trans Day of Visibility, you showed up to learn about the legal landscape facing transgender communities and the tools L4GG built to track it in real time.

Every registration is someone who chose action. And every comment submitted, every training completed, every event organized makes this community harder to ignore.

We’ll be back next week with more ways to take action—but the work doesn’t stop here. 

  • Know someone else who would be interested in this newsletter? Share this link so they can sign up too.

  • Join our rapid-response SMS group by texting “community” to 771-203-4895.

Zenab Youssef
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Impact Docket – 3/25/26