Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

We do not know what will happen when the new president takes office, but we can expect a thing or two. This is why Latino Memphis is already taking steps to make sure the community is informed about what we can expect and what is likely to happen. We must continue to make room for conversations around issues that affect immigrants’ abilities to contribute and participate fully in America, while preventing policies that target, belittle or intimidate others.

As a non-profit, non-partisan organization, we do not endorse candidates, but we do hold people in office to the highest standard. We respect the constitution and will work to make sure that rights are upheld and have faith in our country’s democratic process.

The concerns that many in the Hispanic community have about the outcome of the election are real and based in fact. Attacks against Latinos, and particularly Mexican immigrants, were a central piece of Mr. Trump’s campaign: building the wall, calling us rapists and bad people, questioning the integrity of a federal judge because of his Mexican descent and threatening to deport 11 million undocumented people, most of whom came here escaping misery and looking to build a new and better life for themselves and their families. Many of those individuals live, work, study and pray in Memphis. Latinos are, and will remain, an important part of our local economy. In many ways, we are literally and figuratively helping to build our amazing city, the place that we all now call home.

We believe Mr. Trump may not be able to implement many of his campaign promises, either because they don’t make sense, are too complex, too expensive or simply outside of the rule of law. Therefore, our worry is that he may turn to immigrants as a scapegoat for the economic challenges our country faces. Although it is unlikely he can deport 11 million people, he could do significant social, political and economic damage by displacing workers and separating families. Instead, we hope the Trump administration will join the bipartisan efforts of a strategic comprehensive immigration reform that addresses the security and economic needs of our country while upholding our moral values.

We are very aware that a former silent majority has spoken during this process. It is unfortunate that we have collectively failed to address the needs of some of our neighbors, and we understand many have not recovered from the recession and many more are frustrated with D.C. However, Mr. Trump ran a campaign fueled by fear, hate and divisiveness. At Latino Memphis, we believe these values are unproductive and unacceptable.

Latinos share the same values and have the same aspirations as other Americans. We firmly believe that the only way we can make our city, our state and our country stronger, is by working together rather than against each other. We must stand strong and remain positive as we advocate for Latino families and continue to build a vibrant Memphis while facing challenges ahead.