Rep. Adam Smith: Executive order will lead to shame

On Friday, President Trump’s executive order temporarily suspending refugees and banning immigrants from seven countries sent shock waves across the globe.

The travel ban drew praise and scrutiny from the public and politicians on both sides of the aisle. One of those in stark opposition to the executive order was Washington State Rep. Adam Smith. He further detailed his concern when he joined the Dori Monson Show and echoed a sentiment he expressed in a tweet over the weekend, calling the travel ban: “A chapter of history America will be ashamed of.”

Related: Hundreds gather at Sea-Tac Airport to protest Trump’s executive order

“The message that is sent to the whole rest of the world is the US is closing itself off based on a religious test and I think it does damage to us,” Smith said.

Much of Smith’s consternation stems from what he believes to be questionable decisions made by the Office of the President when it comes to writing policy. Smith believes the president’s decisions “would be better if they were somewhat thought out,” or, “if he consulted the Department of Justice.”

Many, including Monson, have pointed out that the actions of the president shouldn’t come as a shock at all, given that Trump’s campaign platform and promises were built on the very issues he has tackled.

“That doesn’t make it right,” said Smith. “He didn’t say that if you’re a legal resident with a green card but you happen to be a Muslim, and you happen to be overseas, in one of these countries. If he had told these people a couple weeks ago, ‘Hey, don’t leave the country, because we aren’t going to let you back in.’ That could have been helpful.”

To that, Monson pointed out that the president was concerned that announcing new policy ahead of time would encourage a flood of entrants to the US before the tougher vetting policies had been installed.

How Obama’s 2011 Iraq travel ban differs from Trump’s executive order

One question posed to Smith was in regards to a previous travel ban during the Obama administration. So, according to Smith, how does this current ban differ from one the State Department installed when it stopped processing Iraq refugees for six months in 2011?

“It was clear,” said Smith. “He didn’t do it for people who were legally in this country. He did it for people who were working their way through the refugee process.”

Still, there are places where Smith and Monson found some common ground. Both disagreed with Michael Flynn’s son tweeting out the hashtag #MuslimBan and both feel the manner in which the policy itself rolled out was less than ideal.

“You cannot understate the damage it has done to the US reputation with the ‘clumsy way’ this was implemented,” Smith said.

“I don’t have any problem with making sure that our vetting process for refugees is accurate,” he added. “If we don’t know who they are? If we don’t have an ability to find out who they are, then they don’t meet the vet!”

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