By Maria Ortiz
May 18, 2024, 11:37 PM EDT
The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) invited President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, to address those attending their national convention which will take place in June in Las Vegas.
The Latino organization, which promotes the vote of this community, announced in a statement that the event will take place between June 18 and 20 and will bring together more than a thousand Latino elected officials and national leaders from across the country.
Biden and Trump, who are seeking re-election in the 2024 elections, are invited to participate in the Presidential Candidates Forum on June 20, less than five months before the November elections.
Arturo Vargas, director of NALEO, explained in the statement that since 1992 “presidents, vice presidents and candidates from both parties have accepted our invitations to speak before Latino leaders.”
Biden has already attended the conference, while Trump has been invited since 2016 but has not appeared.
Vargas stressed that Latino voters will play “a fundamental role” in the outcome of this year’s elections.
NALEO projects that a “record” 17.5 million Hispanics will go to the polls next November and calls on voters, parties and candidates to boost the participation of this community in the elections, to make their power effective.
“We hope that President Biden and former President Trump will attend and engage our electorate on the issues that matter most to them and the millions of Americans they represent,” Vargas added.
In addition to the presidential candidate forums, conference attendees will also participate in round tables on various topics on the national agenda, such as immigration, access to affordable housing or gun control.
The annual meeting of NALEO, which has become an important political forum, has been attended on other occasions by such important personalities as former President Barack Obama and former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Senator Bernie Sanders have also spoken at this forum.
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