On Feb.11, Apple Maps changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Similarly, Google also announced it would change the name on its platform once the name was updated on the official listing.

This comes after Jan. 20, when President Trump signed Executive Order 14172, “Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness.”

It was a name change that has been discussed since Trump went into office for the second time. 

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo responded to Trump’s initial intention to rename the Gulf of Mexico during her Jan. 8 morning press conference. 

In a New York Post YouTube video, Sheinbaum questioned if geographic locations are being renamed, “Why don’t we call it America Mexicana, it sounds nice, no?” as translated by Esmeralda Hernandez Cardenas.

Sheinbaum also emphasized that the Gulf of Mexico is a United Nations-recognized name. 

On Feb. 17, during Steinbaum’s morning congress broadcasted by CNN, she said, “Google has no right to rename the continental shelf of Mexico. It has no right to the continental shelf of Cuba because it is divided into three countries, the Gulf of Mexico,” as translated by Hernandez.

Steinbaum expressed that she sent a letter to Google regarding the renaming and is still waiting for their response. Based on CNN’s article, she would take legal action against Google by filing a civil lawsuit against them.

According to the Washington Post article, Mexico owns 49%, Cuba 5% and the U.S. owns 46% with only 22 nautical miles of the gulf. Despite the U.S. owning a smaller percentage than Mexico, Google Maps still renamed the entire Gulf to Gulf of America.

The White House continues to stand firm on the renaming and ignore any backlash. As shown in the YouTube video by Reuters, on Feb. 12, when Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt spoke on this matter. 

“It is a fact that the body of water off the coast of Louisiana is called the Gulf of America. And I’m not sure why news outlets don’t want to call it that, but that is what it is,” she said.

Leavitt went on to reaffirm the White House’s stand.

“The Secretary of the Interior has made that the official designation in the Geographical Identification Name Server,” Leavitt said. 

She emphasized further that this rename needs to be recognized by the larger audience.

“Apple has recognized that, Google has recognized that, pretty much every other outlet in this room has recognized that body of water as the Gulf of America,” Leavitt said. “It’s very important to this administration that we get that right not just for people here at home but also for the rest of the world.” 

The United States Geological Survey had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, so companies like Apple implemented the new name on their map. 

According to the BBC, this change will appear on navigation apps in the U.S., however, in other countries both names will appear as Gulf of America in parentheses under Gulf of Mexico. In Mexico, it will remain the same.

Some San Diego State students who use either Apple or Google Maps to navigate expressed dislike for this change. 

Gabriela Naranjo, a second-year sociology major at San Diego State University, said that she wanted to step away from using Apple or Google Maps but didn’t know what other apps to use. 

Naranjo further expressed that this might be more than just a name change. 

“It just seems like the people in power of these apps, just want to conform to [Trump], the president,” Narajo said. “They just want to conform so that they stay in power as well. It’s almost like nobody wants to bud heads with him because they’re scared of what he can do, and so, even by saying, like the greatness, like restoring the greatness of America is kinda icky to me because we are colonizers and we are colonizing an ocean.” 

This is also not the only big change happening that affects society within the United States.

Aside from implementing the Gulf of America into its navigation app, Google also made other changes. 

According to The New York Times, the Google Calendar had removed some default holidays, specifically racial and ethnic-related holidays. For example, Hispanic Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month and Women’s History Month used to appear automatically in the past. 

This issue can also create greater division and damage to the Mexican community in the United States. 

Many Mexican-Americans and Latino community members have been protesting against many new executive orders. 

For example, three SDSU organizations coordinated a protest on Feb. 24 to support undocumented rights. The protesters demanded that the school protect undocumented students and become a sanctuary campus for those in need.

Denise Velazquez, a fourth-year Spanish major, said that she intensifies as a Mexican-American, but during this current political and social climate, she identifies more as Mexican. 

“I will still call it the Gulf of Mexico,” Velazquez said, as translated by Hernandez.

Although the renaming happened, it does not mean everyone will accept the change. 

Velazquez expressed that this renaming was sudden and only happening now because Trump came into office.

“It is a symbol of power 100%, I mean, before, there was no thought that would cross a president’s mind to change the name of Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America,” Velazquez said, as translated by Hernandez.  

According to many students, what Trump and companies like Apple and Google don’t understand is that the Gulf of Mexico means a lot to the culture and the people of Mexico. It’s not something that they should take ownership and control of.

“I think the name, I mean, it has a lot to do with the identity of the culture of a nation and then changing the Gulf of America makes it a bit of conflict because the name has significant importance for Mexico and its people, Velazquez said, as translated by Hernandez. “It’s a change that could be seen as an attempt to erase the Mexican heritage and its rights over the Gulf of Mexico.” 

This story is also available in Spanish.