MAYOR GIULIANI RECEIVES LEGISLATIVE FRIENDSHIP AWARD FOR HIS IMMIGRATION EFFORTS FROM THE LEAGUE OF UNITED LATIN AMERICAN CITIZENS (LULAC)
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today received the first ever Legislative Friendship Award from the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) for his outstanding support of the rights of legal immigrants. The award was presented to the Mayor by William J. Wilkison, Senior Vice-President for Human Resources for the Walt Disney Company, during LULAC's Legislative Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.
"In every generation immigrants have rejuvenated the country and reminded us what patriotism is all about. As Mayor of New York City, I feel particularly qualified to talk about this because no city owes more to immigration than New York. Every building, bridge, monument - everything that makes up our famous skyline and that makes New York City the most recognized city in the world - can be traced back to the hard work and creativity of immigrants," the Mayor said. "For the last two years, American immigrants have faced an historic threat. Many of the provisions of the immigration legislation that passed Congress and was signed by the President in 1996, were harsh and unfair to immigrants."
The Mayor continued, "Today, even though we have worked so hard together and have made great progress, there's still more work to be done to correct the injustices this legislation has created. With the support of grassroots organizations like LULAC we are turning the tide. We are setting the tone for the debate. Now we are helping people to see immigrants for what they are - assets, not liabilities. We should be proud of what we've accomplished for immigrants and for the American people as whole. In many ways, we've reminded America of its best self."
Senator John McCain, Representatives Richard Gephardt and Xavier Becerra and the Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Roselló, were also honored at the event hosted by ABC's Elizabeth Vargas. The gala was attended by hundreds of distinguished Hispanic corporate, political and community leaders.
The LULAC Legislative Friendship Awards Gala highlights critical legislative issues affecting Hispanic Americans and recognizes key leaders who have served the Hispanic community well. Honorees are selected based on their support of public policies important to the Hispanic community.
LULAC is the largest and oldest Hispanic membership based organization in the United States. It was founded in 1929 and currently has 115,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. LULAC's mission is to advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community based programs operating at more than six hundred LULAC councils nationwide. The organization involves and serves all Hispanic nationality groups. Their Corporate Alliance works closely with Fortune 500 companies to foster stronger partnerships between corporate America and the Hispanic community, and to ensure that the nation's future workforce obtains the necessary education and skills to keep America productive.
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