Four Democratic presidential candidates made their best pitch to Latinos during a televised town hall Thursday in Des Moines, but it was U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont who received the loudest and most enthusiastic response of the night.

The crowd of several hundred stood and applauded at length even before the senator jumped into his remarks, which covered support for improving the immigration system and protecting undocumented workers.

"Let me talk about this issue: that there are many, many undocumented workers in this country who are not only scared to death about being reported and having an ICE raid in their communities; they’re being exploited as we speak," Sanders said in referencing the federal agency that enforces immigration law.

The town hall was hosted by the League of Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and NewsmaxTV. LULAC describes itself as the largest and oldest Hispanic organization in the United States.

Kenia Calderon, a Des Moines resident, said she was impressed by former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, who also participated in the town hall. But for Calderon, there was a clear winner.

"It was Bernie's night," she said.

Sanders' appearance Thursday marked his return to Iowa after suffering a heart attack in early October. In a Thursday afternoon interview with the Register, Sanders said his campaign had not lost momentum.

Castro, the only Latino in the Democratic race for president, is eight days away from potentially ending his presidential campaign. He announced this week that he would drop out of the race if he failed to raise $800,000 by the end of the month.

Castro, who said Thursday that he is a third of the way toward his fundraising goal, was asked whether he could still break through in the crowded field.

Castro pointed to polls that showed likely Democratic caucusgoers remain mostly undecided.

"This 2020 cycle, I think, is more unstable than it's ever been," he said.

Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke also spoke at the event, and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii appeared by video. O'Rourke was asked by reporters after his appearance on stage how he planned to break out in the narrowing field in Iowa.

“Luckily, there’s still 100 plus days left before the Iowa caucus,” he told them.

The roughly two-hour event featured questions on a range of issues, from immigration policy to wealth inequality. There were also multiple questions about issues like abortion access and whether federal funding should pay for the medical procedure. Other questions focused on churches that do not allow same-sex marriage.

Sanders, Castro and O'Rourke said they all support abortion access and women's reproductive health care, along with other left-leaning issues. Their answers prompted cheers.

Claudio Hidalgo, a Chilean American living in Cedar Rapids, said issues like gay marriage and abortion are often portrayed as points of contention between Democrats and the Latino community — but she does not believe that perception reflects reality.

"That’s a stereotype," Hidalgo said. "That the national media, but also the local media —they assume Latinos are more Catholic and more conservative. They are not. They’re just like any other group, and it's more of a generational divide."

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled the name of Kenia Calderon, a Des Moines resident. This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of her name.

Barbara Rodriguez and Robin Opsahl cover politics for the Register. Rodriguez can be reached by email at bcrodriguez@registermedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @bcrodriguez. Opsahl can be reached by email at ropshal@registermedia.com. Follow them on Twitter @robinlopsahl.

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