Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., introduced a bill Thursday that would ban federal agencies and employees from using the term “Latinx” on any official document.
The two former presidential candidates introduced the “Respect for Hispanic Americans Act,” matching similar legislation introduced in the House of Representatives. Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., introduced the “Reject Latinx Act” prohibiting the same term earlier this Congress.
“Hispanic Americans overwhelmingly oppose the term ‘Latinx,’ and I want to make sure our government does not bow to woke activists in our federal departments or agencies by insisting on ridiculous terminology like this,” Cruz said in a press release. “It has no place in official government communication, and I’m proud to work with Sen. Rubio to keep it out.”
Rubio added: “Hispanic Americans don’t need fabricated woke terminology imposed on us. The term ‘Latinx’ has no place in our federal agency’s official communication as it’s a degradation tossed around by progressive elites.”
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who signed legislation into law banning the word “Latinx” by state government officials, applauded the move on Twitter.
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“This is language used on college campuses and by woke corporations – not the Hispanic community,” the Republican governor tweeted.
When Salazar introduced her legislation in April, she said the Biden administration was “waging a woke crusade on Latino identity and the Spanish language” by pushing the use of “Latinx.”
“We cannot allow the Biden Administration to use White House communications to attack our language and impose progressive ideology on our people,” the lawmaker added.
The Biden administration has pushed the term “Latinx” as an effort to be more inclusive but the term has not been widely adopted by the Latin American community.
In a press release, her office said the term was a “woke invention of the neo-Marxist left” and said it “should never be used to refer to someone of Latin American or Hispanic ancestry.”
“Latinx is overwhelmingly rejected by the Hispanic population in the United States. Many find the term extremely offensive and patronizing. Polls conducted in the last four years all show us that most Latinos have never even heard of ‘Latinx,’ let alone use it,” the statement continued.
Her legislation was co-sponsored by Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., Alex Mooney, R-WV, Jeff Van Drew, R-NJ, Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, Carlos Giménez, R-Fla., and Burgess Owens, R-Utah.