The country's oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization will endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president, according to multiple reports.
The move means the League of United Latin American Citizens will break from its past practice of not formally supporting any political candidates, NBC News reported.
The outlet added that LULAC leaders will join Harris and her vice presidential candidate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at a rally in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The endorsement was made through the group's PAC, LULAC Adelante.
"We are proud to endorse Kamala Harris and Tim Walz because of the real issues facing Latino communities and all Americans across the nation; we can trust them to do what is right for our community and the country," said Domingo Garcia, the LULAC Adelante PAC chair and a past LULAC president, CBS News reported.
LULAC told NBC News it had been creating a PAC for several years, and the prospect of another Donald Trump presidency created an urgency to do it now.
"The politics of hate-mongering and scapegoating Latinos and immigrants must be stopped," LULAC CEO Juan Proaño said in a statement.
"Latinos understand how much is at stake in this election, for not only our community but our democracy."
LULAC said its local chapters will step up support for the Democrat ticket in key battleground states.
According to Pew Research, more than 36.2 million Latinos will be eligible to cast ballots for president this year, the highest in electoral history.
The Harris-Walz campaign recently released its first ad targeting Latinos, and the spot will run across battleground states.
"As the daughter of an immigrant mother, like our community, Vice President Harris knows the power of determination. It's why throughout her life she's taken on violent criminals, big banks, and greedy corporations — and won," campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said, CBS News reported.
"Vice President Harris will use that same determination to beat Donald Trump, who is proudly running on an anti-Latino platform that demonizes immigrants, raises costs and would make our communities less safe."
LULAC was founded in1929 protect the rights of Americans of Mexican descent.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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