Impact Docket – 04/22/26

Written By Zenab Youssef

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

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🔴 The Moment We're In: An Attack on All

Yesterday, the Department of Justice indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center — an organization that has spent decades documenting hate groups, defending vulnerable communities, and holding extremist organizations accountable in court. It is the latest escalation in a pattern that has been building for well over a year: law firms targeted by executive order, judges threatened for lawful rulings, civil rights protections unlawfully rescinded, and now civil rights organizations themselves pulled into the crosshairs. (Read L4GG's full statement here.)

It is happening alongside a sixty-seven-day government shutdown with no end in sight — and a new move by Senate Republicans to bypass it entirely. Yesterday, they introduced a budget resolution to fund ICE and CBP with up to $140 billion through 2029 via reconciliation — no filibuster, no reforms, no body cameras, no warrants. Three months of pressure from lawyers and advocates, erased through a procedural end-run. Next week, the Supreme Court hears arguments on whether 350,000 Haitian TPS holders can be stripped of their legal status.

This is what it looks like when the institutions lawyers swore to uphold are dismantled one by one. And this is why May 1 matters more than ever.

53 Law Day of Action events are confirmed across the country — nine days from now. Lawyers standing outside courthouses, retaking their oaths, making clear that an attack on one is an attack on all. We need every lawyer in this community either at an existing event or organizing one where there isn't one. Find yours or start yours at LawDayofAction.org.

This week's docket has twelve ways to act. Pick one. Start there.

⚡ QUICK ACTIONS

⚖️ Find a Law Day of Action Event Near You — May 1 Is 9 Days Away

📍 LawDayofAction.org

The country needs to see lawyers standing up — not behind desks, not in filings, but outside courthouses, in public, in numbers that make it impossible to pretend the legal profession is sitting this out. That's what Law Day of Action is for.

53 events and counting are now confirmed in cities across the country — and the list is growing. Find the one nearest you, register, and put May 1 on your calendar now. If your city isn't listed yet, scroll down — organizing your own event takes less than an hour, and L4GG handles everything else. 

📜 Tell the Senate: Reject the $140 Billion Backdoor for ICE

📍 L4GG.org/StopDHSViolence

For months, lawyers and advocates — including more than 1,000 organizations — demanded that Congress stop funding ICE and Border Patrol without reforms. It worked. DHS appropriations have been stalled since January, and the shutdown is now in its third month.

Rather than accept reforms, Senate Republicans are using reconciliation to lock in up to $140 billion for ICE and CBP through 2029 — a fast-track process designed to bypass the filibuster and every guardrail Democrats have been demanding since federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

A letter identifying yourself as an attorney and an officer of the court carries real weight here. Tell your senators: vote NO on the budget resolution.

📜 Tell the Senate: Protect Haitian TPS — Vote YES on H.R. 1689

📍 L4GG.org/ProtectHaitianTPS

H.R. 1689 passed the House — now it needs the Senate. And next week, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on April 29 over whether the administration can strip 350,000 Haitian TPS holders of their legal status entirely. The administration claims conditions in Haiti have improved. They haven't. 6.4 million people need humanitarian assistance, armed gangs control 90% of the capital, and over 5,500 people have been killed since March 2025. The State Department's own website says it's too dangerous for Americans to travel there.

These are people who entered this country lawfully, earn $3.9 billion in household income, and pay nearly $1 billion in taxes annually. Tell your senators to pass H.R. 1689!

📜 Tell Congress: Don't Hand the DOJ to the President

📍 L4GG.org/StopHR8065

When the courts kept blocking the administration from installing its own picks in U.S. attorney offices, Congress responded — not by defending judicial independence, but by introducing a bill to eliminate it. H.R. 8065 would strip federal district courts of their authority to appoint interim U.S. attorneys, handing that power entirely to the Attorney General and effectively bypassing Senate confirmation. The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee on March 26and could come to the full House floor at any time.

Your voice as a lawyer matters here. A letter identifying yourself as an attorney and an officer of the court carries weight that form emails don't.It takes two minutes.

 

📩 SHORT-TERM ENGAGEMENT — Live Events & Trainings

📋 Submit a Comment: Defend Work Permits for Asylum Seekers

📍Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: THIS FRIDAY, April 24

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

  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.

👥 Pro Bono Volunteer Webinar: Lawyers on the Front Lines

📍 Register: L4GG.org/FrontLines | April 28 | 3pm ET | Zoom

Curious what it’s actually like to volunteer with L4GG? Join L4GG’s Executive Director Traci Feit Love for a candid conversation with four volunteers who have done the work — from a variety of legal backgrounds, representing opportunities across L4GG’s programs. They will share how they got involved, what support L4GG provided, and what they’d tell someone who has been on the fence. Come with questions.

☣️ Submit a Comment: Oppose EPA's Rollback of Protections Against a Known Carcinogen

📍Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: May 1

The EPA is proposing to roll back rules for commercial sterilizers — major emitters of ethylene oxide (EtO), a potent carcinogen. This rule would increase EtO emissions by over 17,000 pounds per year near homes, schools, and parks, and permanently restrict the use of new science in health risk assessments.

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

  2. Submit your comment via the Federal Register by May 1, 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 Deadline Extended to May 11

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 May 11, 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 

Last year, Law Day mobilized 10,000+ lawyers in 50+ cities. This year, 53 events are confirmed — but every city without one is a city where the legal profession stays invisible when it needs to be seen most. May 1 is nine days away.

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.

 

🤝 PARTNER ACTIONS

🎙️ Raise Your Voice for the Rule of Law — Audio Campaign (Deadline: April 24)

📍 bit.ly/voices4rol

What does the rule of law mean to you? The Alliance for American Rule of Law and cylindr magazine are building a supporter-driven audio campaign — collecting 30-second voice notes from lawyers and advocates around the world. All submissions will be anonymized and compiled into a special Law Day episode of the Rule of Law Defenders Podcast on May 1.All you need is 30 seconds, a phone line, and your own voice. Submit your audio note by midnight EDT on April 24. Share widely — the more voices, the more powerful the message.

🏳️‍🌈 Tell HHS: Protect LGBTQI+ Youth in Federally Funded Programs

📍 Submit a comment | Comment deadline: May 6

HHS has proposed changes that would weaken protections for LGBTQI+ youth in federally funded housing, counseling, and emergency support programs — services that reach some of the most vulnerable young people in our communities. The proposal would remove requirements that services respect gender identity, reduce provider accountability, and eliminate explicit bans on conversion practices.Submit a public comment urging HHS to reject this rule and maintain strong protections for LGBTQI+ youth.

 

🎉 Community Impact: A Historic House Vote

Last week, the U.S. House passed H.R. 1689 to extend Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Haitians — in a bipartisan 224-204 vote, with ten Republicans crossing the aisle. House leadership refused to bring the bill to the floor. So Congress forced it — through the first immigration-related discharge petition in history to succeed, a rarely used procedural tool that lets members bypass their own leadership when enough of them sign on. It took months of organizing from TPS holders, faith communities, labor unions, and advocacy organizations across the country to get there. L4GG was part of that pressure — and so were you.

The bill now heads to the Senate, and the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on Haitian TPS next week. The fight isn't over. But this vote happened because people refused to let it not happen.

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

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

Zenab Youssef
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Impact Docket – 04/15/26