While hundreds in Las Vegas protested President Donald Trump's immigration and refugee ban Sunday, one state lawmaker says hold on.
Assemblyman Chris Edwards is a Republican who represents District 19, which is a mainly rural section of eastern Clark County that includes Lake Mead, bordering Boulder City.
“This is clearly an executive order designed to keep us safe because the procedures that were in place have not been sufficient,” he told KNPR's State of Nevada.
He cited mass shooting attacks in Orlando and San Bernardino as examples of holes in the system.
However, the suspect in the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando was an American citizen. One of the shooters in the mass shooting at a government building in San Bernardino was an American citizen and his wife, who helped in the crime that left 14 people dead, was from Pakistan, which is not one of the seven countries covered by the president's ban.
Edwards brushed aside the suggestion that foreign policy experts and career diplomats have made that the ban will make the U.S. less safe because it can be used by groups like ISIS as a propaganda tool and will hurt relationships within the seven countries that the U.S. needs to find terrorist cells.
“The idea that we’re causing the problem is absolutely in correct,” he said.
He said the countries have made up their minds about Americans, and the policy will make the country safer.
"They're going to take their target list out from who they think they can successful attack," he said, "So saying that we're going to increase or decrease the odds based on this ban is simply inaccurate."
Assemblyman Chris Edwards, R-Las Vegas
