According to the NCUA, there are 133 Hispanic American credit unions that the federal agency describes as minority depository institutions. They are defined by the minority composition of the credit union's current and potential membership and minority composition of board members. The 133 Hispanic American credit unions, however, does not include the dozens, if not hundreds, of cooperatives not classified as minority depository institutions that serve Latinos in their communities.

The NCUA's 2016 Congressional Report said Hispanic American credit unions persistently represent the majority of share deposits of all minority depository institutions that serve African Americans, Asian Americans and Native Americans. Shares in the Hispanic American credit unions totaled $12.2 billion with assets of $14.3 billion last year.

"These assets represent 38% of the total assets in all minority depository institutions," according to the NCUA's report. "Hispanic American institutions also have the largest average asset size of $126.7 million. This demonstrates there is potentially additional untapped wealth within the Hispanic community."

Though Latino market experts concede Trump's plans on immigration are troubling and worrisome, they point out that most Hispanics in the U.S. are not undocumented immigrants. Of the 11.4 million immigrants born in Mexico and the 22.3 million born in the U.S. who identify as Hispanics of Mexican origin, about 5.8 million are undocumented. The experts also said even for credit unions that serve undocumented immigrants, the loan risks are no greater than with other members.

Just two weeks before Trump inked his executive immigration orders, Miriam De Dios, Coopera's CEO, released a white paper that highlighted the little-known trend of double-digit Latino population growth from 2007 to 2014 in states such as North Dakota, Kentucky, Louisiana, Delaware, Maryland, Vermont, Alabama, Wyoming, Mississippi and South Carolina. What's more, since 2000, Latino populations have grown by more than 100% in South Dakota, Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina and Virginia.

"Midwestern states, too, are discovering just as many opportunities for engagement with their own growing numbers of Hispanic residents," De Dios wrote. "Iowa and Wisconsin — home to the credit unions featured in this (white) paper — have each experienced explosive growth rates and now count Hispanics among one of the largest, fastest growing and youngest groups in the states."

De Dios debunked the issue and misconception that lending to Hispanics is riskier than other member groups even with Trump's immigration policies.

"There are a lot of inherent risks in lending, so the likelihood that somebody from one day to the next will pass away, skip town or face deportation — those are all risks accounted for in the lending process," she explained. "From that end, I don't think it changes anything."

What more, De Dios cited a 2014 CUNA/Coopera Hispanic Outreach Return on Investment Study that showed the 86 credit unions that implemented an Hispanic outreach program experienced faster loan growth, 8.62%, during the three years after they implemented the outreach program compared to the three years before outreach, during which time the average annual loan growth was 5.11%.

Nevertheless, Trump's immigration policies have struck fear, panic and uncertainties throughout immigration communities across the nation. His executive orders define immigration enforcement priorities so broadly that they could apply to millions of unauthorized immigrants, including those without criminal records, according to Human Rights Watch. The executive orders also seek to punish sanctuary cities that protect immigrants from deportation. Moreover, a provision in the executive orders stripped federal privacy protections from immigrants, raising fears that information they willingly submitted to the federal government during Obama's administration could be used to deport them, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Even legal immigration is coming under scrutiny. Two Republican Senators, Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, recently introduced legislation to cut the number of legal immigrants annually from one million to 500,000, arguing that legal immigrants have bloated the low-skill labor force contributing to lower wages for Americans.

Pablo DeFilippi, SVP of membership and network engagement for the National Federation of Community Development Credit Union based in New York, acknowledged credit union executives may get the perception that providing loans to immigrants may be riskier than in the past. And that may lead some CEOs to shelve plans or scale back on serving the Latino market until more is known about how the Trump policies will actually work.

"Yeah, that can be one way to look at it, and some people will probably shy away from this (market), but we have to look beyond four years," DeFilippi said. "The reality is that the Hispanic market is the fastest growing market demographic in the country. The Hispanic population by 2060 is estimated to be 120 million. Executives who decide not to serve this market are shooting themselves in the foot. What we advocate with Juntos Avanzamos and at the Federation is that the issue here is about financial inclusion. It's about growth opportunities for our industry. It's about relevance for our industry."

Despite Trump's policies, the Federation is forging ahead with plans this year to get 100 credit unions across 20 states to earn their Juntos Avanzamos designation, which means credit unions have the policies, procedures, products and services to meet the financial needs of the Hispanic population.

Since going national more than 16 months ago, 32 credit unions across 15 states received the Juntos Avanzamos, bringing the total number to 64 credit unions that have secured the designation at the end of 2016.

Credit unions, however, don't want to talk publicly about how Trump's immigration policies may affect them.

"We're simply not interested in responding and engaging in discussion with such strong political overtones," Anne Hagen said, who is vice president of marketing for Community 1st Credit Union.

CU Times contacted numerous credit unions that serve immigrants. A couple declined comment while the rest never responded.

Even in the face of the heightened risks of Trump's immigration policies, credit unions are moving forward with their plans to serve Hispanic members.

For example, the $1 billion Greylock Federal Credit Union in Pittsfield, Mass., recently announced plans to expand its community development program to target the underserved such as immigrants, low income workers, students and young workers.

In addition, the $748 million Seattle Metropolitan Credit Union celebrated the opening of a new branch and its Juntos Avanzamos designation to serve the Hispanic community. Last year, the credit union partnered with the city of Seattle to offer financial resources for low-income immigrants, including citizenship loans for individuals and families with no application fee, no income verification requirements and a no-interest, fee-based option.

De Dios noted that during these times of uncertainty, it could be the best of times for credit unions to reach out to immigrants to gain their trust and their business.