Nevada Representatives decry Trump’s immigration ban

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 | 2:59 p.m.

U.S. Reps. Dina Titus and Ruben Kihuen this afternoon condemned President Donald Trump's executive order barring refugees from entering the country, while vowing to help those who may be affected.

According to Titus, her office is aiding a local professor trapped in Canada where they were conducting research. Further details on the professor, who Titus said was born in one of the countries listed in the order, were not immediately available.

"We are here to say we are very much opposed to the president's policy," Titus said in the press conference broadcast from from her Las Vegas office. "We don't support it and we'll do all that we can to help people who get caught up in this."

Kihuen echoed her sentiment: "We stand with our constituents. We will speak up, and we will fight when we need to."

The executive order, signed by Trump on Friday, implemented a ban on all refugees entering the U.S. for four months, while halting indefinitely any refugee entries from war-torn Syria. It also placed a 90-day ban on all immigration to the U.S. from seven nations with a Muslim majority nations, which includes Yemen, Iraq and Iran.

Any Nevadan who is trapped in another country because of the order should contact the offices of Titus and Kihuen, they said.

As of Saturday afternoon there were no reports of people being held at McCarran International Airport, spokesman Chris Jones said, noting that it would be unlikely since there are no direct flights to Las Vegas from any of the countries listed in the executive order.

Titus said the refugee program already conducts extensive vetting and that recent provisions have made the process tougher.

"The refugee program is something that's not just like they're walking in the door," she said.

Titus said the ban has broader implications than being just morally wrong. "Remember, Las Vegas is pushing international tourism... with actions like this from the president, you're going to make it harder for them to come and also less appealing," she said. "So, there are economic as well as moral reason to why this is such a terrible action."

"This is an un-American move by our president...," Kihuen said. "We're talking about doctors, we're talking about lawyers, we are talking about professionals who are contributing to this country."

In a plea to his colleagues in congress, Kihuen asked both democrats and republicans to ask Trump to take back the action. "If you feel that this is immoral, please speak up."

The Associated Press contributed.