Here's the thing about DEI initiatives, that many people seem to forget -- it was never about merit (or the lack thereof), it was about competing against racial bias and unfair laws.
The old boys' clubs kept out anyone that didn't look like them. We can debate all day if this was an implicit bias, nepotism, cronyism, or whatever. Take a look at the numbers from the past, take a look at the laws from Jim Crow. People of color and women weren't even allowed to work in some areas or companies. DEI grew out of Affirmative Action to add checks and balances to the practice of only hiring straight white men.
Of course, with human nature at play, DEI has become a way to add a checkmark for a member of historically excluded group. This checkmark may come at the expense of a more qualified member of a majority group -- or it may not. I can tell you as a member of several minority groups, we often have to work twice as hard to get to any position of authority, and even then, people assume we are just a DEI hire.
Now we have immigrant minority groups riding the coat tails of the Civil Rights movement, acting against their own best interest... At any rate, I no longer live in the US, and sitting back with my popcorn. This is gonna be interesting in the long run.