Bernie Sanders told a Latino leadership conference Thursday he “firmly” believes Donald Trump will not be president of the United States.

Addressing the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), the Democratic presidential candidate said that Latino immigrant families live in “fear” and “sadness” and “what has exacerbated that fear is the presence of Donald Trump.”

{mosads}While presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton did not accept NALEO’s invitation to speak at the event, Sanders made no mention of her in his speech, instead focusing on policy proposals and Trump’s candidacy.

“I had hoped, and I think most Americans had hoped, that by the year 2016 maybe we would be beyond having candidates make bigotry the cornerstone of their campaigns,” said Sanders.

Trump was also invited to speak but did not accept.

The Vermont senator was the lone major party to address NALEO’s 2016 conference, but Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson is slated to speak at the event later Thursday. 

Republican presidential nominees John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 addressed the group, as did President Obama in both years.

Sanders outlined four major issues confronting the Hispanic community: the need for comprehensive immigration reform, an inclusive economy, criminal justice system reform and the financial crisis in Puerto Rico.

The House passed bipartisan legislation meant to help Puerto Rico get out of debt on June 9, and it is now slated for review by the Senate. Sanders said in his speech that bill is “a very, very, very bad piece of legislation” and through it, “we are treating [Puerto Rico] as an absolute colony.”

Sanders also slammed the Obama administration’s deportation policies, saying immigration raids “must end” and advocating for temporary protected status for Central American families fleeing violence in their home countries. 

He argued in favor of the president’s executive actions on immigration, saying that “if Congress does not do its job,” the next president must also “use the executive powers of that office” to reform the immigration system.