On Oct. 4, Ethnic Media Services hosted a zoom briefing where a panel of policy experts raised significant concerns over Project 2025, a comprehensive policy agenda crafted by the Heritage Foundation.
On Oct. 4, Ethnic Media Services hosted a zoom briefing where a panel of policy experts raised significant concerns over Project 2025, a comprehensive policy agenda crafted by the Heritage Foundation. Panelists included Manjusha Kulkarni, Executive Director of the AAPI Equity Alliance; Sulma Arias, Executive Director of People’s Action Institute; Yvonne Gutierrez, Chief Strategy Officer of Reproductive Freedom for All; and Tony Hoang, Executive Director of Equality California. Together, they examined the potential threats that Project 2025 poses to immigrant rights, reproductive freedoms, LGBTQ+ protections, and the balance of power in American government.
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Introduced in 2022 by the conservative think tank, the 900-page document titled “Mandate for Leadership” outlines sweeping changes to federal governance. While its advocates claim these changes will make government more efficient, critics argue that the project would shift the U.S. toward autocratic rule, consolidating executive power and eroding protections for marginalized communities.
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A key area of focus in Project 2025 involves restructuring climate protections and healthcare. Sulma Arias warned of “privatizing critical public services,” such as FEMA’s flood insurance program and the National Weather Service, which would dismantle essential safety measures. Highlighting recent natural disasters like Hurricane Helene in North Carolina, Arias noted that privatization could leave vulnerable communities without support during crises.
In healthcare, Project 2025 proposes rolling back Medicaid benefits and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), while raising prescription costs under Medicare. Arias emphasized the human impact of these policies: “For many people, this means the difference between life and death,” pointing to rising healthcare costs as a crisis for underserved populations.
Project 2025’s reproductive health policies include potential restrictions on abortion rights, which would limit access to critical healthcare.
Yvonne Gutierrez of Reproductive Freedom for All, explained how the document’s use of the 1873 Comstock Act could ban mailing FDA-approved abortion medication across the nation. According to Gutierrez, the plan could also permit healthcare providers to deny reproductive services, and even reduce HIPAA protections by tracking birth and abortion outcomes for potential prosecutions.
“Exceptions don’t work,” she added, emphasizing that limited access can lead to devastating health outcomes. Gutierrez recounted a recent case in which a Florida woman was forced to leave the state for cancer treatment due to abortion restrictions.
Project 2025 also threatens LGBTQ+ rights, according to Equality California’s Tony Hoang. Proposed measures would revoke federal funding for providers who offer gender-affirming care, dismantle protections for LGBTQ+ students, and deny workplace protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. “Project 2025 would reverse policies that protect against discrimination,” Hoang warned, stressing that its policies could marginalize LGBTQ+ youth in particular.
Manjusha Kulkarni from the AAPI Equity Alliance highlighted the severe impact of Project 2025 on immigrant rights. The blueprint calls for mass deportations, warrantless searches, and reductions in family-based immigration. The document also emphasizes a rhetoric that, according to Kulkarni, demonizes immigrants by labeling them “illegal aliens” and accusing them of “infiltrating” U.S. communities. Polls show a mixed reaction from Americans on immigration reform, though a majority support pathways to citizenship.
Many of Project 2025’s policies appear aimed at consolidating executive power. Experts warn that plans to replace career officials with political appointees and eliminate departments such as the Department of Education could threaten American democratic structures. “In a democracy, if you can’t pass something unpopular, you do it by reducing rights through executive action,” said Kulkarni, highlighting how Project 2025 could undermine long-standing institutional safeguards.
With potentially sweeping effects on core freedoms and protections, Project 2025 has raised widespread concern among advocates and policy experts. They argue that it could reshape the American rights landscape, moving the U.S. away from democratic principles and compromising civil liberties.
