Impact Docket – 08/26/26
This week demands action. Here are eight ways you can push back right now:
⚡ Quick Actions
Tell the Senate: Reject Dr. Heidi Overton for FDA Commissioner → Write to the Senate
Tell Congress: Support independent immigration courts — cosponsor the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act → Write to Congress
📩 Short-Term Engagement — Public Comments & Trainings
Streamline Build America, Buy America waiver requests → Use resources (below) to submit a comment by THIS FRIDAY, Aug 28
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 101 for Attorneys → Register for the September 17 webinar
🛠️ Long-Term Engagement
Spanish speakers: Support habeas cases for people detained by ICE → Register for our September 16 info session
Michigan election protection attorneys: Launch training for poll challengers and affidavit collectors → Register for the September 18 training
🏛️ State-Level Advocacy
CA RESIDENTS: Last chance to stop the social media ban — A.B. 1709 → Send your letter in 2 minutes
🤝 Partner Actions
TPS Tuesday: Join a weekly phone bank for Haitian TPS!
Whether you have 2 minutes or 2 days, join the fight. Keep reading for more context.
🔴 The Moment We're In: Where The Work Is
It has been a week of institutions under strain — and of lawyers stepping into the gap.
At the FDA, the president nominated Dr. Heidi Overton, who has called mifepristone "telebortion" and helped shape the executive order cutting the childhood vaccine schedule that major medical groups warned against. Even the Republican who chairs her confirmation committee, Senator Bill Cassidy, called her role in that order "almost disqualifying." In the immigration courts, the deeper problem is structural: Unlike every other federal court, they sit inside the Justice Department, where judges answer to the attorney general rather than the law — which is exactly why the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act would make them independent. In California, a bill advancing toward a floor vote would force every resident to verify their age with a government ID or biometric scan just to use social media, trading constitutional rights for the appearance of safety.
And the fights we've been in for months keep going. Haitian TPS has been formally cancelled, but the movement to pass S. 4814 is closer than ever. People remain in ICE detention without lawyers. Michigan needs attorneys on the ground before the November election.
The thread connecting all of it: When institutions are pushed to serve power instead of people, it falls to lawyers to do something about it — in comment dockets, in courtrooms, at phone banks, at the polls. This week's Docket is where that work starts.
Eight actions. Pick one. Start there.
⚡ QUICK ACTIONS
⚖️ Tell the Senate: Reject Dr. Heidi Overton for FDA Commissioner
The FDA is charged with protecting the health and safety of the American people — a mission that depends on leadership grounded in scientific evidence, not political agendas. Dr. Heidi Overton has built a record that raises profound concerns. She has advocated for congressional restrictions on mifepristone — an FDA-approved medication used safely for decades in abortion and miscarriage care — and has described medication abortion as "telebortion." She also played a central role in the August 10 executive order directing changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, a move widely denounced by pediatricians and major medical organizations.
Placing an outspoken opponent of evidence-based reproductive care in charge of the very agency that regulates mifepristone puts the FDA's scientific independence at risk. We continue to see federal health and science institutions come under political pressure, and this nomination would deepen it. Concerns aren't confined to one party — even the Republican chair of the Senate's health committee has publicly questioned her fitness and lack of experience leading a large agency. Tell the Senate to reject Dr. Heidi Overton.
🏛️ Tell Congress: Support Independent Immigration Courts
Immigration courts make decisions with profound consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Yet unlike other federal courts, the immigration court system is housed within the Department of Justice, and immigration judges are employees who ultimately answer to the attorney general. That structure lets court policies, priorities, and case-management practices shift with each administration — and raises real concerns about whether cases are decided consistently, impartially, and free from political pressure.
The Real Courts, Rule of Law Act of 2026 (H.R. 7836 / S. 5094) would establish an independent Article I immigration court system, similar to other specialized federal courts Congress has created. An independent court would strengthen impartial decision-making, manage its own dockets and resources, promote consistency, increase transparency, protect due process, and restore public confidence in immigration proceedings. This isn't about weakening enforcement or advancing any single immigration policy — it's about ensuring these courts function as fair, effective, independent tribunals. Ask your members of Congress to cosponsor the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act.
📩 SHORT-TERM ENGAGEMENT- PUBLIC COMMENTS
🏗️ Submit a Comment: Streamline Build America, Buy America Waiver Requests — DEADLINE THIS FRIDAY
📍 Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: THIS FRIDAY, August 28
When a community can't get American-made products for their infrastructure projects, Build America, Buy America (BABA) rules let federal grant recipients request a waiver — but the process is so burdensome that it can delay water system repairs, road projects, clean energy, affordable housing, and many other projects for months. Local governments and grantees end up buried in paperwork instead of getting shovels in the ground.
The US Department of Agriculture is renewing the form used for these waiver requests, which gives us a real chance to push for a simpler, faster process — one that gets communities their projects sooner without watering down the "Buy America" goal.
Read our comment template and draft your comment
Submit your comment by August 28, 2026
Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment
📄 FOIA 101 for Attorneys: A Practical Training (MCLE credit in CA + TX)
📍 L4GG.org/FOIA101 | Thursday, September 17 | 2:00 PM ET | Zoom
The Freedom of Information Act gives any person the right to request government records — a powerful tool for transparency and accountability. This introductory training gives attorneys a practical overview: when and how to submit effective requests, strategies for navigating agency responses and exemptions, and ways to use what you obtain in litigation, policy advocacy, and public education. This session will be recorded and shared with all registrants.
MCLE credit: approved for 1 unit of general MCLE credit in California, pending accreditation in Texas (must attend live to receive credit). Register here.
🛠️ LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT
🗣️ Spanish Speakers Needed: Habeas Corpus Info Session for Volunteer Interpreters and Attorneys
📍 L4GG.org/HabeasInfoSession | Wednesday, September 16 | 12:00 PM ET | Zoom
L4GG is seeking volunteer attorneys, law students, and legal professionals fluent in Spanish to serve as interpreters supporting habeas corpus petitions for people unlawfully detained by ICE — facilitating intake interviews, interpreting legal explanations during telephonic meetings, and coordinating with counsel and family members. Volunteer attorneys are also invited to learn about representing detained individuals in habeas cases directly.
Our upcoming info session on September 16 covers what habeas petitions are, the tasks interpreters perform, and the support L4GG provides — including training materials, model petitions, malpractice insurance, legal research tools, and mentoring. No immigration experience required. This session will be recorded and shared with all registrants. Register today.
⚖️ Michigan Election Protection Attorneys: Launch Training for Poll Challengers and Affidavit Collectors
📍 L4GG.org/MichiganEP | Friday, September 18 | 12:00 PM ET | Zoom
L4GG, the Promote the Vote Fund, and the ACLU Fund of Michigan are recruiting Election Protection Attorneys to be on the ground at early voting sites and polling places in Michigan as nonpartisan poll challengers — prepared to collect affidavits so credible problems observed in the field can directly support emergency litigation. This one-hour launch session walks through the program model, deployment logistics, and what to expect, and unlocks access to two hours of required asynchronous training.
Who should join: Licensed attorneys (any state) able to travel to areas of highest need across Michigan during early voting (Oct 25–Nov 1) and/or Election Day. Registered Michigan voters are preferred (they can serve as poll challengers with more rights and responsibilities), but volunteers not registered in Michigan can serve as poll monitors — the training covers the difference. Register today!
🏛️ STATE-LEVEL ADVOCACY
📱 CA RESIDENTS: Last Chance to Stop the Social Media Ban — A.B. 1709
Time is almost up for A.B. 1709. The bill must pass the state Senate by August 31 or it dies for the session — and it cleared the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month, so a floor vote could come any day. California lawmakers have amended it, but the core problems remain: it would ban everyone under 16 from social media and force age verification on every user, meaning adults across the state could be required to hand over a government ID or biometric scan just to log in. Courts across the country have already struck down bans like this as unconstitutional.
This is the last window to stop it. Tell your state Senator there's no "kid exception" to the First Amendment — and California shouldn't hand taxpayers the bill for defending a law that's unconstitutional on its face.
🤝 PARTNER ACTIONS
📞 TPS Tuesday: Weekly Phone Bank for Haitian TPS
📍 Join virtual phone banks, or use the call spreadsheet and script!
Even though — and especially because — TPS for Haiti has now been cancelled, the movement isn't giving up. Our partners at the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti are hosting TPS Tuesday, a weekly virtual phone bank building grassroots support for S. 4814, the Senate bill to extend Haitian TPS for three years. Momentum is real: The bill is gaining cosponsors, and offices from both parties report the calls are landing.
Join for any portion that works for you — Tuesdays, 12:00–2:00 PM ET on Zoom. You can also make calls any time using IJDH's call spreadsheet and script. Haitian Bridge Alliance and Amnesty International are also hosting a bi-weekly Friday phone bank (next date: September 4).
We’ll be back next week with more ways to take action—but the work doesn’t stop here.
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