Last night, Illinois Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez was honored at the 24th Annual Hispanic Heritage Foundation awards ceremony that was held in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center. The Foundation honored eight distinguished individuals that included Gutierrez, actress America Ferrera and the legendary television personality ‘Don Francisco’.
Rep. Gutierrez received the Leadership Award from the Foundation for his work on immigration reform and is considered to be the highest honor for Latinos by Latinos. Last year’s Leadership Award was given to Sen. Robert Menendez from New Jersey.
“I am humbled by the honor and to join those who have gone before me,” Gutierrez said. “Fighting for immigration reform and fair treatment of America’s working families is as hard a job as it has ever been. When you see how unpopular the U.S. Congress is and when you read the hate mail my office gets every day from the vocal minority in the anti-immigrant and anti-Latino crowd, it’s nice to get a little recognition and be with people who appreciate what we are trying to do to make America better, more welcoming, and more just.”
