By David L Snelling

Miami – In his first two weeks in office, President Donald Trump has been wielding his power, from sweeping away undocumented immigrants with his immigration crackdown operation to ending DEI, signing a flurry of executive orders that are reshaping America.

African Americans and immigrants are reeling from the impact of Trump’s pen.

Most of the federal programs that empowered Blacks were terminated, leaving many mulling their future in the hands of a president who is linked to white supremacy and made disparaging remarks about the population.

Their fears were heightened when the Trump administration initially froze federal funding for affordable housing, college grants, grants for child care, unemployment and Medicare, among other programs.

All programs uplifted minorities and despite the White House rescinding the federal fund freeze over so much uproar and on the brink of facing legal challenges, Blacks still feel targeted and are uncertain what’s in store for them during Trump’s second four-year term.

Another blow to the Black community was the Defense Department’s intelligence agency pausing observances of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Pride Month, Holocaust Days of Remembrance and other cultural or historical annual events in response to Trump’s DEI ban on programs in the federal workplace.

But Trump did sign a proclamation recognizing February as Black History Month.

Nevertheless, some Black leaders feel Trump’s power will sweep them back to the days of the Civil Rights Movement, breaking the cultural backbone built by King, Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall and other Civil Rights icons.

Protests and boycotts erupted during the 1960s and Black leaders are planning similar peaceful demonstrations if the Trump administration doesn’t restore DEI programs and stop attacking African Americans.

Digital talk show host Roland Martin is encouraging the Black community to get behind economic boycotts against Target, Walmart, Toyota and Lowes for ending their DEI initiatives.

“We have to plan [with] a strategy an economic boycott,” Martin said on his show. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1968 ‘Mountaintop’ speech wasn’t just about hope, it was a radical call for economic action. He urged Black Americans to withdraw support from businesses that don’t invest in or hire from their communities, emphasizing collective wealth and Black-owned institutions. What Dr. King and Jesse Jackson used back then is still relevant today.”

Activist and political commentator the Rev. Al Sharpton said he’s planning to lead protests against companies dropping DEI programs and Trump.

“Diversity is strength, Equity is justice, and Inclusion is power,” Sharpton said on social media. “When they try to silence us, we get louder.”

If banning DEI wasn’t enough, Trump blamed DEI for the air collision between an American Airlines plane and a military Black Hawk helicopter at Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington D.C. that reportedly killed 67 people including ice skating professionals.

Trump blamed both the Obama and Biden administrations for the tragedy by hiring Blacks and other minorities though DEI, which Black elected officials condemned.

Democratic leaders say that rather than bringing the country together and focusing the attention on the 67 victims and their families, Trump decided to traffic in “racist” attacks on communities of color and women.

“This is a tragedy that occurred above DCA airport. Lives have been lost. Families have been devastated. People are suffering, and the leader of this country decides to go out and pedal lies, conspiracy theories, and attack people of color and women without any basis whatsoever,” said House of Representatives Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a video posted on X. “Have you no decency? Have you no respect for families whose lives have been turned upside down?”

U.S. Rep. Fredrica Wilson (D-Miami) said Trump’s remarks were unacceptable.

“While human bodies are still being pulled from the Potomac, Donald Trump is blaming white women and minorities for the deadly crash under the guise of DEI,” Wilson said. “We should all expect our president to lead us with sympathy and compassion during a monumental tragedy such as a fatal airline crash that claimed 67 lives. Instead, he is lambasting armed services personnel, pilots and air traffic controllers for a crash that is unprecedented and is still under investigation. The response from the White House lacks leadership; it’s abysmal and sickening.”

It’s a twist of cruel fate for Blacks and Hispanics.

According to the Associated Press, although Vice President Kamala Harris won 80 percent of the Black vote, about 22 percent of the population voted for Trump, leaning on his campaign promise to improve the economy including the unemployment rate.

The 22 percent were out of work as well as impacted by inflation during the Biden administration.

About 81 percent of the Hispanic population in South Florida voted for Trump after he visited the community during one of his campaign stops and ensured them better opportunities.

But his illegal immigration crackdown so far has detained over 1,000 undocumented immigrants nationwide for deportation including people from Cuba, Venezuela, Educator and Haiti.

Trump also revoked the Biden-era Temporary Protection Status (TPS), which allowed migrants to work and live in the United States until the violence and conditions in their home countries improved.

Many in the local Haitian community fear deportation despite not having criminal records. Some some have relocated to other areas to avoid being sent back to the Caribbean nation amid the ongoing gang violence. The death toll reached 5,600 in 2024, according to the United Nations Humans Rights Commission.

Leslie Voltaire, president of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, told the Associated Press that the Trump administration’s decision to deport migrants and prevent migrants from entering the U.S. could add to the calamity.

Voltaire said about half of the 11.6 million Haitian population are struggling with hunger and Trump cutting off aid to the island nation is making matters worse.

Trump said that Haiti is a ‘sh*thole,’ so I don’t think he will care about Haiti,” Voltaire said. The new policies of the United States, he added, likely ensures that “the situation will be catastrophic.”

If Trump’s frozen federal funding decree is restored, Blacks seeking affordable housing could be impacted.

Federally funded project-based Section 8 benefits about 45 percent of public housing for Blacks nationwide, and in Detroit, 99 percent of public housing residents are African Americans, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees the program. About 13 percent of Hispanics are HUD residents.

South Florida is still reeling from the affordable housing shortage and local governments and nonprofits depend on federal funding to run programs to help place residents in homes.

In addition, state law that bans homelessness in public places makes it more difficult for local agencies to get people off the streets and into shelters which also relies on federal funding.

Ron Book, chairman of the Homeless Trust, Miami-Dade’s homeless services agency, said that federal grants are the organization’s largest source of revenue and make up nearly half of the Trust’s $100 million annual budget.

“We don’t yet know what the effect will be,” Book said. “We’re not pausing anything; we’re not stopping anything.”

Book said the Trust’s $16 million in reserves will be able to keep all of its federally funded programs online for at least 90 days.

In her 2025 State of the County Address last week, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said if the funding freeze is restored, it would affect local non-profits and county services.

“I just think it’s important to understand what are the priorities of this administration and realize that there are some changes,” said Levine Cava. “I don’t think everything is going to go away. I think we have to understand which areas are most vulnerable. We are going to do our very best to work with this administration and get support for this county. We’ve already made approaches through various people. We’re very hopeful.”