If Project 2025 serves as the conservative blueprint for a radical reconstruction of the United States, then the Trump administration is the vehicle that will bring it to life. In all, President Trump will appoint more than four thousand political staffers — most of them staunch loyalists. Some will require Senate confirmation, but most will get right to work without it.
So, who are the people behind the Trump administration, and how will their plans strip away the rights and safety of AA/PI and other marginalized communities?
To answer this question, Stop AAPI Hate analyzed Trump’s political appointments and created a list of the nine top officials who could present the biggest threat to racial justice for Asians and Pacific Islanders, including U.S. citizens and immigrants.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Law Enforcement and National Security
Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
WHO WOULD DRIVE TRUMP’S ANTI-IMMIGRANT AGENDA?
Donald Trump has spent his entire political career spreading lies and twisting facts in order to whip his supporters into a racist frenzy against immigrants of color. And since 65% of Asian Americans in the U.S. were born outside of the country, any change to immigration policy will have a disproportionate impact on our communities.
Trump has appointed Stephen Miller as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, assigned Tom Homan as “Border Czar”, and nominated Kristi Noem for U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. They support his vision for a nation that is hostile to immigrants and people of color, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to cut off legal pathways to immigration and set into motion the most extremist, expansive, and expensive deportation campaign in U.S. history.
Stephen Miller, White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy
Stephen Miller is a conservative commentator and political advisor who has spent his career trumpeting the views of eugenists, white nationalists and anti-immigrant hate groups. From his official post as Senior Policy Advisor during the first Trump administration, he masterminded the most controversial federal immigration policies.
As Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Miller has a second chance to shape the future of U.S. immigration. And his recent interviews make clear that he is more determined than ever to close the border, ban even legal forms of immigration, and detain and deport untold numbers of immigrants. His policies would also hurt U.S. citizens, as he wants to force them to leave with family members who are deported and wants to get rid of our constitutional right to birthright citizenship.
What makes his appointment so dangerous:
- He could expand the travel ban. During the first Trump administration, Miller was the chief architect of the notorious Muslim ban, which barred immigrants from Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. This act of malice tore apart families, reduced refugee resettlement, and fueled Islamophobia against Muslim Americans nationwide.
⚠️ What now?
▶️ Immigrants are bracing themselves for an even more expansive travel ban targeting immigrants from China and India as well as travelers from predominantly Muslim countries.
- As the lead architect of Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda, Miller and his team are drafting an executive order eliminating birthright citizenship on the first days of Trump’s presidency.
💡 Did you know?
▶️ Since 2012, DACA has helped more than 14,000 Asian Americans and 150 Pacific Islanders attend school, find work, and contribute to public life without fear of deportation.
- He could continue efforts to eliminate the DACA program, which offers relief from deportation for children who were brought to the U.S. without documentation (or “Dreamers”).
Tom Homan, Border Czar
A former police officer, Homan led the federal deportation machine at ICE from 2013 through 2018.
As the “Border Czar” under the Trump administration, he will be in charge of carrying out inhumane mass deportation plans — including the arrest, detention, and deportation of millions of people — in their homes, at work and school, and across our communities.
What makes his appointment so dangerous:
- Homan has threatened to carry out “the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen.” – even if it means breaking up families by deporting the undocumented parents of 4.4 million U.S.-born children. In his five years at ICE, Homan oversaw the deportation of record numbers of immigrants, and now he’s prepared to do even more damage. This will have a huge impact on AA/PI immigrants.
💡 Did you know?
▶️ After Mexico, the most common birthplace for U.S. immigrants are Asian countries: India, China, and the Philippines. In fact, 1 out of every 7 undocumented immigrants is Asian. That adds up to 1.7 million people — the vast majority of whom have lived in the U.S. for more than a decade.
- To pull off mass deportation at this scale, Homan could target noncitizens without criminal records, by unfairly labeling entire communities of immigrants as dangerous criminals. In fact, he is already targeting Chinese people who are escaping persecution and looking for economic opportunities in the U.S — falsely claiming that “Chinese men of military age” are forming an army with the Chinese government.
- Homan is the intellectual father of family separation, a monstrous policy that separated thousands of immigrant families at the southern border and put children as young as two or three in cages. A court has barred the federal government from reinstating this policy for eight years. But more than 1,300 children remain in U.S. custody and without their parents (as of April 2024) — and Homan’s aggressive deportation campaign could tear apart additional families.
Kristi Noem, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
The South Dakota Governor and Trump loyalist rose to prominence for putting her ideological crusade against immigrant communities over the needs of her own constituents — and for demonizing Chinese people.
As Trump’s nominee for the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Noem will oversee a sprawling agency responsible for border control, immigration enforcement, and anti-terrorism activities. If confirmed, Noem will be a key player in the implementation of Trump’s immigration policies.
What makes her nomination so dangerous:
- Noem is a vocal supporter of discriminatory land ownership bans targeting Chinese immigrants and entities. Last year, she signed into law a statewide ban on Chinese land ownership of South Dakota agricultural land, claiming without evidence that the Chinese government wants to “systematically take over more of America’s vital food supply chain.”
- Noem will have the power to scale back relief for disaster-stricken communities, and instead fuel her anti-immigrant agenda. As the impact of climate change continues to accelerate, the governor’s track record in her home state of South Dakota suggests that she won’t hesitate to mobilize resources to the southern border at the expense of disaster-stricken communities.
🔎 Is this true?
▶️ Chinese individuals and entities own less than 1% of foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land — 0% of which is located in South Dakota, according to federal records.
▶️ This is not about national security, but discrimination. In states like Florida and Texas, such bans have fueled housing discrimination against Asian Americans. Congress is considering a federal ban that would have even more far-reaching implications.
- Noem will also oversee the agency responsible for tariff enforcement. Though she has raised concerns with the president’s proposal to impose steep tariffs on Chinese goods, Noem will face significant pressure to support them.
🌐 Why does this matter?
▶️ Trump’s tariffs will increase prices and place tremendous financial pressure on the American people, including millions of Asian American and Pacific Islander working families.
WHO WOULD DRIVE TRUMP’S LAW ENFORCEMENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY AGENDA?
The appointment of Pam Bondi, Trump’s U.S. Attorney General nominee, and John Ratcliffe, Trump’s CIA Director nominee, tells us that the president wants to transform federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies into a dangerous instrument for racial profiling, warrantless surveillance, political retribution, and attacking our civil rights.
The historic nature of certain nominations — for example, Tulsi Gabbard (the first Samoan American Director of National Intelligence) and Kash Patel (the first Indian American FBI Director) — doesn’t change the existential threat such officials pose to the civil rights and wellbeing of AAPI communities.
Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General
Pam Bondi is Chairwoman of America First Policy Institute’s Center for Litigation and the former Florida State Attorney General. As a state official, Bondi spewed disinformation about the 2020 election results, eroding trust in our democratic institutions and fueling threats of violence against poll workers and elected officials.
Bondi is now slated to become Trump’s Attorney General if confirmed by the Senate. The U.S. Attorney General is supposed to serve the American people as a non-partisan official. They work as lead prosecutor for the U.S. government, direct criminal investigations, prosecute criminal cases, and oversee agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
What makes her nomination so dangerous:
- Bondi is a Trump loyalist. If she is confirmed as U.S. Attorney General, she could use the position to do Trump’s bidding like seek revenge on Trump’s political enemies. It wouldn’t be the first time that she put her political interests before the rule of law. As head of the legal arm of the America First Policy Institute, she published false and misleading reports about voter fraud and spread lies that “illegal immigrants” voted in the presidential election.
- Bondi could coerce sanctuary cities and states into cooperating with federal immigration authorities by threatening to pull federal funding. If Bondi is successful, this would put sanctuary cities, like Chicago, or sanctuary states, like New Jersey, in the impossible position of choosing between federal funding and protecting immigrant communities.
Kash Patel, FBI Director
After serving in the first Trump administration as Senior Advisor to the Acting Director of National Intelligence, Kash Patel created a nonprofit to fund retaliatory defamation lawsuits against Trump’s political opponents. Despite the president’s racist remarks against AAPI and immigrant communities, Patel remains loyal to him — so loyal that he has published two children’s books in support of Trump.
If confirmed, Patel will become the first Indian American to assume the role of FBI Director, one of the most independent officials in the federal government with the power to issue subpoenas, serve warrants, and in some cases, make warrantless arrests. In this role, he will oversee federal law enforcement, surveillance, investigation, and intelligence collection.
What makes his appointment so dangerous:
- As FBI Director, Patel could turn the organization into a vehicle to prosecute Trump’s political adversaries. He is likely to use his extensive powers to purge government officials he deems disloyal and target journalists and media outlets critical of Trump. This would silence marginalized communities and erode our democracy, which relies on free speech and the freedom of press.
- He would oversee the China Initiative, a program under Trump’s Department of Justice that wrongfully prosecuted hundreds of Chinese American academics and scientists for economic espionage and trade theft without evidence. These bogus criminal cases cost people their jobs and livelihoods and created a chilling effect on the scientific community that is stifling American innovation and economic growth.
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
Tulsi Gabbard is a former U.S. Representative for Hawaii with a controversial record on immigration and concerning ties to far-right extremists. If confirmed as the National Director of Intelligence, Gabbard will be the first Pacific American in a Cabinet position and will preside over the CIA, the NSA, and other intelligence agencies.
What makes her nomination so dangerous:
- In this role, Gabbard will have the power to greenlight surveillance on U.S. citizens. While federal agencies are not technically allowed to spy on U.S. residents, laws like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) create loopholes for the government to monitor the private communications of everyday people, including text messages and emails — all without a warrant.
💡 Did you know?
▶️ Since 2015, the federal government has used FISA Section 702 as cover for 278,000 backdoor searches on people in the U.S., conducting warrantless spying on opposing politicians, political donors, and Black Lives Matter activists.
- Gabbard could use FISA Section 702 to allow federal agencies to conduct warrantless surveillance on people who communicate with foreign nationals. This makes AA/PI communities especially vulnerable to government surveillance, since we are more likely to maintain contact with friends, relatives, or colleagues outside of the United States.
John Ratcliffe, CIA Director
John Ratcliffe is a staunch Trump loyalist and a vocal anti-China hawk who served as the Director of National Intelligence during the first Trump administration. He was also a part of his defense team during Trump’s impeachment trial.
If confirmed as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director, Ratcliffe will oversee the CIA, which gathers intelligence to address foreign threats.
What makes his nomination so dangerous:
- Ratcliffe could use his position to politicize and weaponize intelligence information against Trump’s political enemies and undermine our elections with unfounded claims of foreign interference.
- Known for his Sinophobia (anti-Chinese sentiment), Ratcliffe could fearmonger about Chinese people to justify discrimination, leveraging the resources and capabilities of the CIA to perform unjust surveillance on Chinese immigrants who have done nothing wrong.
- Ratcliffe could use his large platform to spout racist and sensationalized rhetoric to divide the American people and fan the flames of anti-Asian hate. In a recent op-ed, Ratcliffe doubled down on anti-China fearmongering. There are ways to protect national security without exaggerating or falsifying threats and fueling anti-Asian racism — but Ratcliffe has chosen the more destructive path.
⚠️ Why is this so dangerous?
▶️ From the unjust incarceration of Japanese people during World War II to the surveillance and arrest of innocent Muslim people after 9/11, the federal government has a long history of scapegoating entire communities of people for issues out of our control. Conflating the Chinese government with the Chinese people feeds the dangerous cycle of xenophobia that leaves our communities feeling unsafe, unwelcome, and unfairly scrutinized.
WHO WOULD DRIVE TRUMP’S HEALTHCARE AGENDA?
Both Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, his nominee for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator, are notorious for spreading dangerous public health misinformation that has harmed the American people, including AA/PI communities. As senior administration officials, you can expect them to move the American public in a direction that makes us less safe, less healthy, and less informed.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK Jr.) is an environmental lawyer and a prominent anti-vaxxer who has used his platform to spread dangerous disinformation and erode trust in modern medicine.
If confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr. will be responsible for the health and wellness of the American public, overseeing: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which tracks infectious diseases; the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which regulates health insurance; and the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates our food and medicine.
What makes his nomination so dangerous:
- His new role could enable him to further spread misinformation, which could be life-threatening for millions.
- In 2019, RFK Jr. traveled to Samoa for a high-profile visit, where he met with anti-vaccine activists and campaigned against vaccine mandates on social media. Within a matter of months, measles spread across the island, killing 83 babies and young children and hospitalizing 1,867 more.
- In 2023, three years after President Trump incited anti-Asian hate by scapegoating Asian people for the COVID-19 pandemic, RFK Jr. used his online platform to spin the same dangerous narrative.
- He could restrict healthcare services for immigrants and mixed status families; impair language access for limited English proficient people seeking medical services; and spread disinformation to dissuade immigrants from accessing healthcare services to which they are entitled.
- 57% of Asian Americans are immigrants, which means RFK Jr.’s nomination could deal a serious blow to the health and wellness of our most vulnerable communities, including our families, neighbors, and friends.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator
Dr. Mehmet Oz is a surgeon and TV personality who started his political career in 2022, when he unsuccessfully ran for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania. Using his medical credentials as a cover, Oz has spread misinformation and promoted dozens of scam medical products. He did this during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he promoted an unproven anti-malarial drug as a cure for the virus.
As the federal administrator for the CMS, Oz will oversee health insurance coverage for more than 150 million Americans and have the power to regulate the level of compensation that doctors, drug companies, and hospitals can receive for their medical services.
What makes his nomination so dangerous:
- If confirmed, Oz could restrict access to health insurance for Asian and Pacific Islander communities — specifically AA/PI elders, who depend on Medicare to access life-saving medicine and healthcare. Asian American voters over 50 already have concerns about Medicare coverage during retirement, and Oz will be in a position to make health care even less accessible.
- He could increase the price tag on critical prescription drugs and vaccines. If the Trump administration repeals the Inflation Reduction Act, as proposed in Project 2025, prescription drugs will be even more expensive for AA/PI seniors, and no-cost vaccines will be out of reach.
- In his new role, Oz could also have the power to privatize healthcare, which limits health insurance coverage and restricts access to certain healthcare providers. With Asian seniors more prone to hypertension, stroke, heart failure, and other conditions while Pacific Islanders struggle with diabetes and certain kinds of cancer, our communities need more coverage — not less.
Stop AAPI Hate remains committed to protecting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders from the threat of Trumpism and right-wing extremism. To do so, we need your support to confront not just President Trump, but also his team of loyalists that will carry out his dangerous and divisive agenda.
From the potential reinstatement of the Muslim Ban to attacks on birthright citizenship and growing anti-immigrant discrimination, we have to mobilize together against the government actions, court decisions, and bigoted political rhetoric that puts our safety and our rights at risk.
We cannot let Trump and his allies pull us back to the darkest chapters of U.S. history, when the federal government endorsed the deportation, imprisonment, racial profiling, and dehumanization of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other underserved communities.
It will take all of us working together to confront and defend against the threat that Trumpism presents to AAPI communities.
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
With Trump’s re-election, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and other targeted communities are bracing for another four years of escalating hate and oppression. The President’s own words and actions make clear that his administration will abuse its power to fuel hate and advance an extreme agenda at the expense of communities like ours.
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The Trump Appointments That Pose the Greatest Threat to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders