President Ronald Reagan advocated for a strong pro-immigration policy in 1981 — but he "would make a completely different statement" today in light of the many terrorist attacks in the United States over the years, his eldest son, Michael Reagan, said Friday.
"I absolutely agree with that statement my father made," Reagan told Don Lemon on CNN. "But then, we had 9/11. Then Paris, France. Then San Bernardino.
"All the other problems that we've had with the radical extremists, blowing up buildings and killing people.
"I would believe that my father would make a completely different statement based on that scenario than the scenario he was making a statement on in 1981," he said.
Reagan's comments came after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that bans refugees from Syria indefinitely and suspends the nation's overall program for 120 days.
The order also suspends visas for people from seven majority-Muslim countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen — for at least 30 days.
Reagan's latest book is "Lessons My Father Taught Me: The Strength, Integrity, and Faith of Ronald Reagan."
"We're in a different time and place," he told Lemon. "The world is under attack by radical extremist jihadists.
"We weren't under attack by jihadists back in the day."
Noting that he did not initially back Trump when he ran for the White House, Reagan said, "You have a president trying to protect America.
"I didn't support him for a very long time, but we elected him — and he is doing exactly what he said he would do.
"Give him time to see how it's going to work out," the political commentator added. "If the world is better, we're going to applaud."
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