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Agustin V. Arbulu, director of the Michigan Department of Civil Rights(Photo: Detroit News file)

Some Michigan Republicans began firing back this weekend at President Donald Trumps immigration executive orders, joining Democrats in arguing that temporarily suspending immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries is unwise and unconstitutional.

The director of GOP Gov. Rick Snyders Michigan Department of Civil Rights said in a Sunday statement that he understood that the federal government has primacy over border and security issues, but argued that every person must be judged by the content of their character, not by the country of their origin.

When government treats entire groups of people based on its worst elements, it not only harms other members of the group, it hurts us all, said Agustin V. Arbulu, who used to run a Metro Detroit home health care service before his appointment to lead the Department of Civil Rights.

It is particularly damaging in times like now, when we must work to mend our divisions, not multiply them. Relying on stereotypes instead of facts will always foster unintended consequences, like bias, hate and prejudice. It strengthens our enemies and drives away our friends.

After an emergency Saturday night hearing, Royal Oak-born U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly in Brooklyn temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting refugees and visa holders from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen after an emergency hearing Saturday night.

Arbulu said he was encouraged that Saturdays court order would prevent anyone already legally approved to enter the country from being returned to their home nations and hoped it would encourage the Trump administration to reconsider the breadth of the executive order.

Snyder himself has not made any comment about Fridays executive orders, which included the end of visas for Syrian nationals and processing of Syrian refugees until security changes are made and a four-month suspension of the nations broader refugee program. In addition, the number of refugees annually admitted to the United States was cut by more than half to 50,000.

Snyder is currently in Israel, but spokeswoman Ann Heaton on Sunday said, Gov. Snyder believes that legal immigration has helped build a strong and diverse talent base and culture in Michigan. We will work with the Trump Administration on the best way forward to keep Michigan a welcoming place while ensuring the safety of all residents.

Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has supported a pause in the refugee program to ensure that security checks are more thorough on people from terrorist-ridden nations including Syria.

This wholesale immigration into this country of people who are not properly vetted was ridiculous, said Patterson, whose county last year resettled the most Syrian refugees of any Michigan county. We know there are terror groups from these countries, and our own intelligence community has said theres no way to properly vet them. The FBI and the NSA said it (last year).

The longtime Republican said there have been problems in Germany and France, which have experienced an influx of Middle East refugees.

We dont want those problems here, Patterson told The Detroit News.

In a series of Saturday tweets, Republican Congressman Justin Amash of the Grand Rapids area criticized Trumps immigration executive orders as overreaching. He joined Michigans five House Democrats in condemning the presidents actions but made some different arguments.

1/ Like Pres. Obamas executive actions on immigration, Pres. Trump's executive order overreaches and undermines our constitutional system, tweeted Amash, who has public disagreed with the new president on the idea of slapping Mexico with a new 20 percent tariff and on other issues.

Its not lawful to ban immigrants on basis of nationality, he added. If the president wants to change immigration law, he must work with Congress.

Amash, who represents a district in the Grand Rapids area, said if the concern is the threats from radicalism and terrorism, "then what about Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and others?"

Trump's order bans most individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, from entering the U.S., on current or new visas, and even green card holders.

But experts note that Trump left off other countries of origin of radicalized Muslims who came to carry out deadly attacks on U.S. soil, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Egypt.

In a series of Tweets, Amash compared Friday's executive order restricting visas for seven Muslim-majority countries to orders under former President Barack Obama in that Trump's "overreaches and undermines our constitutional system."

"It's not lawful to ban immigrants on basis of nationality. If the president wants to change immigration law, he must work with Congress," Amash wrote.

He said Trump's denial of entry to green-card holders, who are lawful permanent residents of the United States, was "particularly troubling."

"Green card holders live in the United States as our neighbors and serve in our Armed Forces. They deserve better," Amash wrote.

"We must do much more to properly vet refugees, but a blanket ban represents an extreme approach not consistent with our nation's values."

Amash, an attorney and the son of a Syrian immigrant, also said that admitting immigrants, non-immigrants, and refugees on a "case-by-case basis" would violate the rule of law due to arbitrariness.

"Finally, we can't effectively fight homegrown Islamic radicalism by perpetuating 'us vs. them' mindset that terrorists use to recruit," Amash wrote.

"We must ensure U.S. remains dedicated to Constitution, Rule of Law, and liberty. Capitalism creates prosperity and improves assimilation."

Another Republican, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said Sunday he wouldn't offer "blanket criticism" of Trump's order.

"Its going to be decided in the courts as to whether or not this has gone too far," McConnell said on ABC's "This Week."

McConnell also said that, "to the extent they're trying to improve the vetting process, I think that's in order. [W]e also need to remember that some of our best allies in the war against Islamic terrorism are Muslims.

Another Michigan Republican, Rep. Dave Trott, R-Birmingham, supports Trump's order.

The scenes of refugees fleeing their homes across the Middle East are absolutely heartbreaking. As a father, I feel for these families who have been ripped from their homelands. However, I understand that our first and foremost priority must be to ensure the safety of American families - our children and loved ones, Trott said in a statement.

"Until we can adequately vet these refugees and ensure the safety of all Americans, I support President Trump's executive order to stay refugees from these terror-prone countries."

In a joint statement, Democratic Reps. John Conyers Jr. of Detroit, Dan Kildee of Flint Township and Debbie Dingell of Dearborn slammed Trumps directive as a thinly veiled ban on entry based on religion."

Unfortunately, the order issued by Mr. Trump today represents an unprecedented break with our humanitarian tradition and role as a beacon of freedom, the lawmakers said.

As members of Congress, we take a back seat to no one in our nations efforts to combat the ongoing threat of terrorism. That is why our refugee system already extensively vets and confirms every individual seeking entry to our country, subjecting them to a series of security screenings and checking against multiple law enforcement databases. But giving in to our worst fears -- as this order does -- will do nothing to make America safer or weaken our adversaries.

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Some Mich. Republicans assail Trump's immigration order - The Detroit News