The president signed a number of executive orders recently, one of which bans nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. Soon after, a federal court judge issued an emergency stay, blocking some of the executive order from taking effect and preventing refugees and immigrants at airports from being deported. This leaves many unanswered questions and the fate of many immigrants and refugees is unknown.

This law is fear mongering at its worst. Since 9/11 there have been no fatalities in the United States caused by extremists with family backgrounds in these countries, according to a report by Charles Kurzman, a sociology professor at the University of North Carolina.

Of the roughly 3.3 million Muslims living in the United States, only 46 Muslim-Americans were associated with violent extremism in 2016, a 40% drop from 2015, Kurzman noted. So if you break it down, that's .0014% of Muslims in this country associated with violent extremism in 2016 – a tiny fraction of the population.

However, "since 9/11, white right-wing terrorists have killed almost twice as many Americans in homegrown attacks than radical Islamists," a 2015 Time magazine article stated. Most notable is the killing of nine parishioners at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church by a white supremacist in Charleston, S.C.

The president also signed another executive order, calling for "the construction of a physical wall on the southern border," according to the White House's website.

This new era in America could serve as an opportunity to explore the entire immigrant marketplace, some of which includes entrepreneurs working to create a new life. They could potentially serve as a huge membership opportunity for the credit union industry.

Credit unions could also benefit from learning about ways to engage the Muslim community.

A report by Wilder Research titled "Strategies for Financial Inclusion" said many U.S. and European banks are incorporating "interest-free banking" as a strategy to accommodate Muslim customers because Shari'ah law forbids the payment or collection of interest, which is a major barrier for members of the Muslim community who may want to engage in the U.S. financial system.

In a state like New Jersey, which has two or three times as many Muslim adults per capita based on the national average, according to the Pew Research Center, credit unions could benefit from engaging with this segment of the community.

The $220 million North Jersey Federal Credit Union in Totowa, N.J., did just that. The credit union designed an Islamic banking division with Islamic banking products that comply with Shari'ah law.

Credit unions should continue to explore the entire immigrant community as a potential opportunity for growth. In an interview earlier this year, Miriam De Dios – a Women to Watch Honoree and CEO of Coopera, a credit union consulting company dedicated to serving the Hispanic community – emphasized the importance of serving the underserved Hispanic market.

De Dios noted credit unions are facing regulatory pressure, consolidations, mergers, an aging membership and slow membership growth, and believes that these symptoms can be addressed by serving the Hispanic market, which she said is the largest, fastest-growing, youngest and one of the most financially underserved groups in the U.S.

CUNA and Coopera teamed up to complete a return on investment study of a Hispanic outreach program on 86 credit unions. The study assessed credit unions three years prior to and three years after implementation of a Hispanic outreach program.

The study showed an increase in loan growth and an increase in average return on assets ratios in the post period compared to the prior period. Membership growth accelerated by 3.02 percentage points, from a 2.07% growth rate in the prior period to 5.09% in the post period.

"At times there's still fear of the unknown, questions around fear of the unknown and questions around what it means to serve segments of the population," De Dios said.

It's easy to forget we are a country founded on immigrants.

These types of executive orders are based on fear with the intent of keeping the "other" out. Our differences make us stronger, and our country has a legacy of helping those less fortunate. Engraved on the Statue Liberty are the words: "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-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

So unless you're a Native American, your family came here from somewhere else. Whether you support the executive orders or not, it's important to lead with empathy. Consider this: Albert Einstein, Andrew Carnegie and Madeleine Albright were all immigrants and people who made huge contributions to the fabric of our society.

Perhaps one of your future members will be the next Albert Einstein. Wouldn't it feel great to say that this person was a member of your credit union?