On July 9, The White House issued an executive order titled, the “White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative,” said to “improve Hispanic Americans’ access to educational and economic opportunities” in the nation.

President Donald Trump met with members of the Hispanic community and announced the initiative on the tail-end of Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lópes Obrador (AMLO)’s controversial visit to the United States.

Latinx politicians and organizations were quick to point-out the performative quality of the order, considering Trump’s well-known statements on the Latino community and his lax approach to an epidemic that is killing Latinos at a disproportionate rate.

The executive order contains no mention of Latino’s as a separate group from Hispanics. And in its totality, it is a contradiction to what the president has symbolized to Hisapanic and Latino communities during his entire tenure as president.

“Their [Hispanic’s] collective contributions continue a legacy of inspiration that is cherished part of the American experience,” reads the initiative.

“While we celebrate the many ways Hispanic Americans have contributed to our Nation, we also recognize that they face challenges in accessing educational and economic opportunities,” it continues.

Latinos are currently the most disproportionately affected demographic group in the nation. 

Racial injustice is prevalent in every aspect of life. ICE is restricting work visas for international workers, DACA debates continue to put 700,000 lives on the line, and international students have been ordered to return to their country of origin if their school is going virtual.

Where is this “celebration”?

“The Executive Order by the President today is little more than words for the Hispanic community,” said Hispanic Caucus Chair Rep. Joaquin Castro. 
 

The Latino victory fund issued a statement on the Executive Order, calling it a “cruel trick designed to gloss over the fact that he has failed the Latino community,” wrote CEO Nathalie Rayes.

“One executive order will not erase the damage he’s done to Latinos – thousands of children separated from families, millions at risk of losing their healthcare, a nearly 18 percent unemployment, and the highest infection and mortality COVID-19 rate, to name a few,” Rayes continued. 
 

Many more are able to see the initiative is just trying to appeal to the Latino vote, as the Nation is just months away from November.

It all seems perfectly timed, with AMLO’s visit, along with other prominent Hispanics and Latinos, and then a puzzling initiative which promises much, but there is a reason why this initiative wasn’t released four years ago.

It belongs to an imaginary world where the last four years do not exist.