Donald Trump's executive order temporarily restricting travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries and slashing the number of refugees the U.S. will admit this year has drawn condemnation from all eleven members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation.
In an interview with WGBH News' "Boston Public Radio," Rep. Bill Keating, who represents the 9th district, called the order a "terrible blunder."
"Its intention is to make us safer," he said on Thursday. "This makes us less safe."
The order doesn't address the most serious threat to American security, Keating said — homegrown terrorism.
"This executive order is 'grade A' propaganda, the kind that makes people here already in the U.S. radicalized [and] inspires them to be radicalized," he said.
Keating also pointed to a special visa program open to Iraqi and Afghan translators who aided U.S. troops. The future of the program under Trump's order is currently uncertain.
"People are putting their lives on the line with an assurance [that] if they are threatened later on, they'll be able to come to the safety of the U.S.," Keating said.
"That, now, is thrown into question, and that will make our military in the field less safe."
To hear more from Rep. Bill Keating, tune in to Boston Public Radio above.
