It has been four weeks since America chose Donald Trump as its 45th president, and the somber feeling of shock still has not gone away. As a Hillary Clinton Campaign Fellow, I dedicated over a year to her campaign, and to say I was shocked on election night would be an understatement. As an undocumented student currently under President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals, the results of this election will cause direct harm to my ability to succeed in this nation. President-elect Trump has stated multiple times that, on his first day in office, he will reverse executive actions made by Obama, according to a Nov. 11 New York Times article. DACA is an executive action during Obama’s term designed to shield and protect from deportation the 1 to 3 million children who were brought illegally to the U.S. when they were very young by their parents. It will likely be terminated come Jan. 20. What does this mean? 740,000 DACA recipients, including myself, will now fear deportation and the loss of work opportunities. Social security numbers and driver’s licenses may also be revoked. However, now is not the time to stand idly by. Liberals and advocates for DACA recipients have a little less than two months to organize and prepare for the arduous road that is ahead.

The Democratic Party was greatly defeated on Nov. 8, and we must admit this. We lost our ability to gain a majority in both chambers of Congress. We also failed to gain the Oval Office and missed the chance to fill Antonin Scalia’s vacant seat on the Supreme Court. Most importantly, however, the Democratic Party has lost significant control of state legislatures and governorships in the last eight years. Republicans will have 26 fully controlled states where the GOP has a majority in the state legislature and controls the governorship. In comparison, the Democratic Party will only hold six.

The Democratic Party cannot afford to only be active every four years; it must be present in people’s lives every single day. Democrats must not only put in place a 50-state strategy but also have a strategy to organize all 3,141 counties in the U.S. They must also organize in this style so they have a more diverse pool of candidates come next election. This issue could not be more glaring in analyzing 2016, where Republicans had 17 candidates competing for the presidency while Democrats had only five. Investing in field organization at the state level will enable young and new candidates to compete for office, gain recognition and actualize policy proposals. According to a Jan. 25, 2015 Politifact article, the Democratic Party has lost over 900 state legislature seats under Obama’s presidency by focusing attention only on national races and often neglecting crucially important state races; the party must never make such a mistake again. Midterm congressional and state races are just as important as presidential elections. Creating and enforcing policies is a joint effort, requiring the support of the legislative and executive branch at all levels — federal, state and local. Additionally, state congressional lines are drawn by state legislators; thus, the party must win these races when the next census comes in 2020.

While a Trump presidency is a direct threat to many of us, there are areas where compromise can be truly achieved with President-elect Trump, if he follows through with his campaign promises. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have made it clear they are willing to work with Trump on issues of agreement: trade, campaign finance reform, congressional term limits and “draining the swamp” — essentially reducing the influence of the powerful political establishment.

However, it is impossible to “drain the swamp” when the members of a candidate’s cabinet and transition team are establishment representatives, business leaders or lobbyists that rarely represent the working-class individuals who drove Trump to his unexpected victory. The Democratic Party must hold the incoming president accountable to actualizing these campaign promises by ensuring they inform his coalition of promises which he has broken. There are policy arenas where America may be able to see some change and progress.

However, just because Democrats are looking to work on some issues with Trump, does not mean they should not organize and fight against the many policies he has proposed that are unconstitutional and do not reflect this nation. Trump won the election fairly and legitimately, but he does not have the popular mandate he claims to own. He is expected to lose the popular vote by over two and half million votes. This does not change the outcome, but it shows that his policies do not have universal approval by the constituency. This was an election marked by a constant desire to end the establishment, even if that change was not particularly good: Voters just wanted any change. On an issue-by-issue basis, many Americans agree with the Democratic Party platform, especially on immigration, gun control, climate change and wages.

With this stunning defeat, the Democratic Party has opened new and bright opportunities that will fundamentally change the party to be more successful moving forward. The first big fight is the next Democratic National Committee chair, who will serve as the head of the Democratic Party under Trump’s administration. The chair must be young and passionate, represent the diversity of this party and present a grassroots mobilization strategy that will yield victory. Democrats should not be guarded in who they choose; they should be bold. If there has ever been a time for our party to try a new strategy, it is now.

While the DNC chair is a crucial indicator of our status moving forward, the most important component to succeeding in 2018 and 2020 is how strongly Democrats organize and mobilize at a grassroots level. They must encourage all individuals, especially minorities, to not only vote but also organize and volunteer to mobilize others in their situation. As young students, we have been provided new leadership opportunities to transform our new and innovative ideas into realistic and substantive policy solutions. As Elizabeth Warren often states, “personnel is policy.” The individuals President-elect Trump hires will be representative of the policies he will seek to advance. If we want to be further represented in the political arena, we must begin to work in this field as to shape the policy that is formed.

As an immigrant, these days have been dark and hard for me. We must all stand in solidarity during these times. If the president-elect decides to form a Muslim registry, we should all sign up. If the president-elect attempts to defund Planned Parenthood, we should organize to safeguard these crucial services for women. If the president-elect attempts to deport our fellow immigrants, we should coordinate with sanctuary cities across the nation to resist. Solidarity is our strongest tool, and we must and will use it. Liberals have had a massive setback in our road forward, but we need to use it to make the Democratic Party stronger so we advance the policies we know truly make America great.