In the United States, speaking Spanish can be an everyday act or a social risk. Recent episodes of discrimination, coupled with judicial decisions that legitimize linguistic profiling, show how the language—spoken by more than 42 million people—has become a mark of suspicion within certain institutional environments.
Discrimination grows in the US
While characters like Dora the Explorer celebrate diversity in parades, speaking Spanish in everyday life can still spark prejudice in the US
Last week, a viral video on TikTok showed a Hispanic Uber driver in Austin, Texas, insulted by a family who threatened to report him to immigration authorities for not speaking English fluently. “I didn’t like the discrimination because of my color and language,” declared the affected person.
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The incident, along with other recent ones in which the language is a reason for aggression or ridicule, revived the debate about the place of Spanish in a country that, despite its diversity, still tends to define “American” under ethnic and linguistic parameters.
The issue gained greater relevance following a Supreme Court ruling in September that allows Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain or question people based on their appearance, employment or language.
The Brookings Institute warned that the measure “puts millions of Latino citizens at risk of being improperly detained or interrogated.” According to the organization, 75 percent of Latinos say they speak Spanish “fairly well or very well,” and 22 percent have suffered some type of daily discrimination because of their accent. Furthermore, 16 percent avoid reporting crimes for fear of being questioned and 14 percent prefer not to speak Spanish in public, a reflection of the “paralyzing effect” caused by institutional prejudice.
Discrimination also extends to the judicial sphere. A study from the University of California, Irvine documented the difficulties of people with limited English proficiency in court. Researchers interviewed 85 Spanish speakers in the southwest of the country and found that many rely on family members — even children — to act as interpreters in legal proceedings.
In a country built on diversity, Spanish faces a paradox: it is the second most spoken language and, at the same time, a source of suspicion. For millions of people, it represents not only an inheritance, but an invisible border between belonging and being singled out.
Unequal. Intolerance extends to the judiciary, where people with limited English proficiency face obstacles
Trump despises video protests
The American president once again caused controversy by publishing a video created with AI where he appears piloting a plane, with the inscription “King Trump”, throwing feces on protesters from the No Kings movement, which protested throughout the US against his government.
The 19-second clip recreates a scene in Times Square with the song Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins, who demanded that his music be removed because he considered it “divides people.” Organizers estimated seven million attendees at the marches, which displayed signs such as “No Kings Since 1776.”
While Trump denied acting “like a king,” JD Vance downplayed the controversy. The protests, marked by inflatable costumes and humor, responded to what they describe as the president’s contempt for citizen dissent.