Sens. Cruz, Rubio Introduce Bill to Ban ‘Latinx’ Terminology

Republican Sens. Ted Cruz, Texas, and Marco Rubio, Fla., have introduced a bill called the Respect for Hispanic Americans Act that would ban the use of the gender-neutral term "Latinx" by federal agencies and employees.

Latinx, a pan-ethnic label, is used as a way to introduce nongendered language into Spanish since the language solely uses male and female constructions. However, the term has garnered controversy because some believe it contorts the Spanish language and many Spanish-speaking people don't even have knowledge of the word. Only one-in-four Hispanic Americans know it exists, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center study.

Latine has been proposed as an alternative because it is easier to pronounce in Spanish, but it has not caught on like "Latinx."

"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 of the bill. "It has no place in official government communication, and I’m proud to work with Sen. Rubio to keep it out."

The bill from the two Hispanic senators follows suit to legislation introduced earlier in this session of Congress by Rep. María Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., called the Reject Latinx Act and a state measure in Connecticut that has received bipartisan support to ban use of the term.

"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," Rubio said.