Health care, immigration, the federal budget and the general tenor in Washington these days were all topics for discussion Monday during a daylong swing through the Vineyard by Cong. Bill Keating.

The visit included coffee with constituents at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, a visit to Vineyard schools, interviews with elected officials and Island newspapers and a stop at Cronig’s Market in Vineyard Haven to wish the business a happy 100th birthday.

During a late morning stop at the Gazette office, he described the atmosphere in the nation’s capital. “It’s a different environment,” Mr. Keating said. “We’re in a period of turmoil. The basic freedoms of our country are being challenged by our own president.”

At the Hebrew Center Monday morning Mr. Keating, who was elected to a third term in November, encountered frustrated constituents.

On immigration: "The system we have now is broken."

Steve Myrick

On immigration: "The system we have now is broken."

Steve Myrick

One woman said she can no longer sleep through the night for fear of irresponsible military action by the new administration.

Mr. Keating said while he is concerned, there are constitutional checks and balances.

“There are protections here. Courts are one of them, the public is another, Congress is another, and that’s the one that has acted too slowly,” Mr. Keating said. “Feel free to go to sleep at night, but get up in the morning and do something.”

He also addressed his own frustration about the lack of progress on immigration reform.

“The system we have now is broken,” he said. “Much of that lies at the door of Congress, and much of that lies at the door of the House. If Democrats were the majority in the House, we would pass a comprehensive immigration bill. This is so doable, and so frustrating. It hurts our country. It also hurts our economy.”

The congressman said the President’s budget proposal, which among other things calls for a large increase in defense spending and large cuts in the Environmental Protection Agency, the state department and federal spending on the arts, so extreme that it may never be considered in Congress. But he said budget proposals coming from Republicans in Congress pose a threat to people who live on Martha’s Vineyard through potential cuts to the Army Corps of Engineers and environmental research programs.

“It will be modified. but it is the framework for the president’s agenda, so it’s important,” he said of the budget.

He also warned that if Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act, it will have significant impacts on Massachusetts residents through increases to out-of-pocket prescription drug expenses for those on Medicare and prescription drug coverage and jeopardizing funding for MassHealth, which serves more than 300,000 adults in the commonwealth. Efforts to address the opioid epidemic could also suffer, he said.

“On the opioid issue, it will have an important impact on that, probably one of the most significant impacts,” he said. “Behavioral help and medical help is available under insurance policies, not just under the Affordable Care Act, but it requires it of the private sector too.”

On foreign affairs, Mr. Keating also said it was clear to him after a recent visit to South Korea and Japan that President Trump’s policies threaten stability in the region.

“Without the feeling that the U.S. is going to honor our treaties, it’s serious. North Korea, and our inability to look like we have our act together, frankly, it’s a great threat. It’s not just the missiles that could reach the United States. We have a treaty. If you’re standing in Seoul, in four minutes, North Korea could just wipe the city out, which would bring us right into war.”