Trump’s Cabinet Picks Fuel Fears

<figure id="attachment_38517" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-38517" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/featured/trumps-cabinet-picks-fuel-fears/a…; rel="attachment wp-att-38517"><img loading="lazy" class="size-medium wp-image-38517" src="http://laprensa-sandiego.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ShowImage-300x2…; alt="Rex Tillerson" width="300" height="209"></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-38517" class="wp-caption-text">Rex Tillerson</figcaption></figure>
As if the country was not already fearful of the incoming President’s campaign fears, which seem closer to becoming a reality with each passing day, that fear is now spreading in light of his Cabinet picks.
President Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees are 70 percent white men, including multimillionaires, chain restaurant and bank owners, and internet pundits who supported him during his run for the Presidency.
“It is a worrisome Cabinet; at least three generals are people who are unqualified for the positions they have been given,” said Pedro Rios, Director of the Border Program at the American Friends Service Committee. “The Senate has already confirmed the person who will lead Homeland Security, and this is a person that wants not only to expand the border wall, but also to expand the ways immigrant raids are done; that is very worrisome.”
This is the first time in decades that a U.S. President nominates four white men to the most important security positions: General James Mattis as Defense Secretary, Russian sympathizer Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, hedge fund millionaire Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary, and anti immigration reform standard bearer Jeff Sessions as Attorney General.
In the opinion of the American Friends Service Committee, these picks represent a reversal of the work that has been done for years along the border to protect the rights of undocumented persons, and fuel fears among many communities throughout the U.S.
“These are anti-immigrant people, some with a historical record of racism, and that bodes very poorly for trying to move the immigration policies we are fighting for forward. I think these are going to be very difficult times,” added Pedro Rios.
 
THE TRUMP CABINET
The Cabinet picks nominated for approval by the Senate are made up of 18 men, 4 women, and one position yet to be determined. The 19 nominees not mentioned above are:
Mike Pompeo: CIA Director
Betsy DeVos: Secretary of Education
Tom Price: Secretary of Health and Human Services
Elaine Chao: Secretary of Transportation
Wilbur Ross: Secretary of Commerce
Ben Carson: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Scott Pruitt: U.S. EPA Director
John Kelly: Secretary of Homeland Security
Andrew Puzder: Secretary of Labor
Rick Perry: Secretary of Energy
Ryan Zinke: Secretary of the Interior
Sonny Perdue: Secretary of Agriculture
David J. Shulkin: Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Nikki R. Haley: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Linda McMahon: Small Business Administration
Mick Mulvaney: Management and Budget
Dan Coates: National Intelligence
Council of Economic Advisers Chairperson (TBD)
Of the 23, only 3 have been confirmed by the Senate; none are in favor of policies in pro of the Latino community.