The famous chef suing GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and stumping for Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail was once a darling of the Department of Homeland Security, taking home an “Outstanding American” award in 2014.
On the day Trump conducted a grand opening at his new hotel in Washington, D.C., chef José Andrés appeared on the campaign trail with Clinton in Tampa Bay, Florida.
“Today I could be in a certain hotel in Washington, D.C. opening a restaurant inside,”Andrés said Wednesday, according to The Washington Post. “Here I am, not even mentioning him.”
“We’re not supposed to mention him until he apologizes to every Latino … every Mexican and every person he has insulted,” he added.
Andrés, who immigrated to the U.S. from Spain, has been locked in a legal battle with Trump after deciding to pull his restaurant out of the then-upcoming Trump hotel in Washington, D.C.
Andrés backed out of the arrangement because he was extremely offended by Trump’s comments on immigration.
In response, Trump sued Andrés in August 2015 for $10 million. Andrés has since counter-sued for $8 million and said that Trump called illegals “rapists” made doing business with him impossible.
Andrés notably received the award of “Outstanding American” in 2014 from the Obama administration.
The “Outstanding Americans by Choice” is an initiative forwarded by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to recognize “the outstanding achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens. Through civic participation, professional achievement, and responsible citizenship, recipients of this honor have demonstrated their commitment to this country and to the common civic values that unite us as Americans.”
As such, USCIS saw fit to honor Andrés in 2014 for being an “internationally recognized culinary innovator.”
Ever since the restaurant dispute kicked off, Andrés has aggressively targeted Trump with criticism, and his appearance on the Clinton campaign is the next-level in terms of increasing enmity.
Months after that tweet, President Barack Obama also stepped in and awarded Andrés with a 2015 National Humanities Medal on September 13, 2016. Obama has called Andrés “the quintessential American success story.”
Additionally, in late September, DHS, the agency tasked with enforcing immigration laws, also decided to honor open-borders activist Antonia Hernández with the same award of Outstanding American. Hernández has made a career out of advocating for illegals as part of her work at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
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