Spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 outlined a detailed plan for reshaping federal institutions to reflect a conservative vision, prioritizing policy goals focused on reducing regulatory oversight and imposing conservative cultural values.
The incoming administration has signaled alignment with the project’s goals. Key changes anticipated under this plan include restructuring key federal agencies, reversing major regulatory policies implemented under previous administrations.
This live event explored the practical implications of Project 2025, its alignment with President-elect Trump’s policy objectives, and how it applied to immigration and the justice system. KALW Executive Producer Ben Trefny moderated a panel including:
Blaine Bookey — Legal Director at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies and a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. She has worked in the field of refugee and human rights for over two decades. Blaine has served as counsel in several cases challenging restrictive asylum policies and represented the asylum seeker in the well known Matter of A-B- precedent case involving the availability of asylum for survivors of domestic violence.
Kevin R. Johnson — Distinguished Professor of Law, Mabie-Apallas Professor of Public Interest Law and Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law. Johnson also has an appointment as Professor of Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis. He joined the UC Davis law faculty in 1989 and was named Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in 1998. Johnson then served as Dean from 2008 to 2024. He has taught a wide array of classes, including immigration law, civil procedure, complex litigation, Latinos and Latinas and the law, and Critical Race Theory. In 1993, he was the recipient of the law school's Distinguished Teaching Award.
Ko Lyn Cheang — Reporter on Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, immigration and politics for the San Francisco Chronicle, which she joined in January 2024. She previously covered housing and city government for the Indianapolis Star, and her work has been recognized by the IRE Awards, Goldsmith Prize, and the Connecticut and Indiana Societies for Professional Journalists. She’s a graduate of Yale College and speaks Mandarin.
