President announces unpopular proposal in a late pre-holiday announcement
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 07/07/25
MEDIA CONTACT: Edder Díaz Martínez, Communications Manager, 602-832-6039, [email protected]
WASHINGTON — Near the close of business time ahead of Independence Day, President Trump issued an executive order to increase national park and federal recreational land fees and revoke a President Obama Memorandum Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Our National Parks, National Forests, and Other Public Lands and Waters.
In response, GreenLatinos Public Land Program Director, Olivia Juarez releases the following statement:
“Free and discounted national park passes for people with disabilities, veterans, seniors, and 4th graders are under threat. Congress just cut off millions of residents from SNAP, CHIP, and Medicaid. Now similar groups may lose the one good-faith resource that makes recreation a little more affordable. The President is relentless in forcing his party to increase the cost of living and reduce quality of life. This is another unpopular DOGE themed attack on equal opportunity to have a career in public land management, and improve your own health on our public land and water.”
Background:
In April 2024, GreenLatinos and Friends of the Inyo issued a petition signed by 965 individuals and a letter to DHS, USDA, and DOI undersigned by 68 organizations urging relevant agencies to address the barriers that cashless entry poses on unbanked individuals, among other requests. A 2021 study by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation found that 8.4 percent of Hispanic households and 8 percent of Black households with income between $30,000 and $50,000 were unbanked, compared with 1.7 percent of White households. A 2006 literature review found, “immigrants as a group are significantly less likely to have bank accounts than people born in the United States, with Mexican and other Latin American immigrants displaying the highest unbanked rates.”
The Latino Climate Justice Framework encourages numerous initiatives directing diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce and enhancing opportunities for all to enjoy public land and water detailed in the revoked memorandum.
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About GreenLatinos
GreenLatinos (NOTE: GreenLatinos is ONE WORD) is an active comunidad of Latino/a/e leaders, emboldened by the power and wisdom of our culture, united to demand equity and dismantle racism, resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation.
