Wherever I travel, I always tell people about my love for El Paso. I tell them we are a diverse and safe city — and that the two are very much connected. We’ve learned to not only tolerate our differences, but to embrace them as fundamental to our success and our security. El Paso’s story is quintessentially an American story: We are a city of immigrants, situated proudly at the border of this nation of immigrants.

Recently, I was in New York where, over a century ago, America opened its gates to the teeming masses of the world at Ellis Island. Today, the Statue of Liberty beckons to the world from here in El Paso, at every port of entry, and shines light upon every bridge across the Rio Grande. When the President demonizes and stirs up hatred against immigrants, he is not only attacking my hometown — he is attacking the very meaning of America.

I believe El Paso can light our path forward, even as America now stands in sympathy and solidarity in its hour of heartbreak and anger. But for good to prevail, we need to bring every single one of us in. That means refusing to let hate win or to quit on our fellow Americans.