COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A local immigrant and refugee advocacy group is speaking out about its growing concerns over President Donald Trump’s immigration rhetoric. Riverview International Center Executive Director Emelia Sheeley said that these immigration laws are disheartening and go against who we are as a nation.  Riverview International Center is a central Ohio-based organization that helps immigrant families adjust to their new lives in the United States. This past year alone, it has helped more than 1,800 individuals from 52 countries.   Sheeley said the people they work closely with are disappointed with the way immigrants are being portrayed because the group sees them as hardworking and honest people who’ve made a lot of sacrifices to be in the United States.  “I believe and have seen that no one makes a choice to emigrate if they don't feel that they have to and, you know, to think that now we just say, ‘Oh, we don't need these people,’ I think it is so wrong and honestly, if, you know, plans for mass deportations, if those are implemented, the country is going to suffer,” Sheeley said.  She said that since Trump’s inauguration on Monday, community members have been reaching out asking how they can help.  “I think it's really nice to see that, in our city, that so many people want to care for immigrants and refugees,” Sheeley said.  Sheeley also mentioned that her organization is paying close attention to the Diversity Visa Lottery Program, a program built to diversify immigration to the U.S. which Trump threatened to end during his first term in office.   “Most of the families and individuals that we work with at Riverview International Center have emigrated legally through the diversity visa program,” she said. “About 80% of the people that we work with have come through that program. For that program to end, I think it would just be kind of mind boggling.”  For more information on the center, click here.