SAN DIEGO -- Janet Murguia is proud of the work the National Council of La Raza does.

"We're celebrating 40 years as an American institution in this country. And over those 40 years, we have established a record of service and contribution, not just to the Latino community, but to our country," said Murguia.

Murguia, president of the NCLR, is excited to be holding the group's annual conference in San Diego during such an eventful year.

"The fact that it is a presidential election year is very exciting and we are seeing already that the Latino vote has made a difference in the primaries, and we are certain that it will make the difference in the outcome of this election," said Murguia.

But the NCLR is not without its critics. Some believe the organization is anti-American and pro-illegal immigration.

"We have a place on our Web site that responds to some of these ridiculous assertions about our organization, that we're willing to give the southwest back to Mexico, and that we're for open borders. Those are flat out lies, not true," said Murguia.

What exactly is the NCLR?

"This organization is an American institution that believes in the security of our borders. It believes in the importance of respecting all of law enforcement and the need to have interior enforcement as we look at a comprehensive immigration reform bill. But we also need to reflect that we are a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws and balance the two," Murguia said.

She added, "I think our goal (for this weekend's conference) is to make sure that our community feels empowered to be able to weigh in on these elections this year. It's a very historic time, and to do so in a very informed and educated way."

Helping to achieve that goal will be one of the highlights of the conference.

Senators Barack Obama and John McCain will both be addressing thousands during the conference in an attempt to gain the Latino vote.