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"That's just not who we are as Americans," Mayor Mike Duggan says Monday in a four-paragraph reaction to President Trump's interim blockage of Syrian refugees and travelers from seven mostly Muslim countries.
"Our country won't be made safe by telling victims of oppression that America's doors are closed to them or by telling them they;re unwelcome because of their religion," Detroit's leader says in a statement shared on social media. "The City of Detroit is proud of our status as a welcoming city, where immigrants from all countries are embraced," Duggan adds.
Also on Monday, a former Detroit author and Free Press reporter now at USA Today tweets:
ALERT: Ford becomes first major U.S. automaker to criticize Trump immigration ban. CEO Mark Fields, Chairman Bill Ford say they oppose it.
— Nathan Bomey (@NathanBomey) January 30, 2017
Original article, Sunday morning:
The week-old Trump administration is sending people to the streets again.
Sunday afternoon demonstrations outside Hamtramck City Hall and at Metro Airport are among responses to a presidential order temporarily blocking all refugees, plus travelers from seven predominantly Muslim counties.
This uncredited graphic is shared on social media.
"Trump EO [executive order] hurts our families & businesses and doesn't make us safer," tweets Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. The state's other Democratic senator, Gary Peters, says he's "extremely alarmed."
President Trump's sweeping order came late Friday. He suspends refugee admissions for 120 days, bars Syrian refugees indefinitely and puts a 90-day ban on U.S. entry by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries. That last action affects students, tourists, athletes, artists, executives and others from places considered terrorist risks. The move blocked some travelers from boarding planes overseas and forced others to turn around upon arrival.
Four U.S. House members from Metro Detroit -- John Conyers, Dan Kildee, Debbie Dingell and Brenda Lawrence -- blast the action in a statement. "This order constitutes a thinly veiled ban on entry based on religion, betraying America’s cardinal commitment to freedom of belief," the Democrats say. (The full text is below.)
Dingell, whose district includes Dearborn, tweets: "President Trump's action on refugees jeopardizes our values as Americans: freedom of religion, compassion and justice. You can't 'make America great' by eroding the very values that made it that way in the first place." Her husband, retired Rep. John Dingell, also speaks out forcefully. (Three tweets appear lower in this article.)
On the Republican side, Congressman Justin Amash of Grand Rapids says his party's president goes too far.
"Trump's executive order overreaches and undermines our constitutional system,” A mash says in a series of nine tweets. “It’s not lawful to ban immigrants on basis of nationality. If the president wants to change immigration law, he must work with Congress.”
► Our coverage: Rep. Justin Amash Stands Alone Against Trump in Michigan GOP Delegation
Atlanta Journal-Constitution eitorial cartoon by Mike Luckovich.
The head of the state Department of Civil Rights criticizes the presidential order's focus on Muslim travelers. "“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,” says Agustin Arbulu, appointed by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.
“It is particularly damaging in times like now, when we must work to mend our divisions, not multiply them," he adds in a Sunday statement quoted by The Detroit News. "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.”
Detroit's Catholic archbishop, Allen Vigneron, restates his religion's commitment to "care for immigrants and refugees, no matter their religion or their country of origin."
An outcry on social media includes these tweets from Dearborn's longtime former congressman, who was succeeded by his wife Debbie in 2015:
Strange to feel even the slightest tinge of the same horror and helplessness that led me to enlist in '44.
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) January 29, 2017
We are so much better than this.
Immigrants and refugees don't just come to America. They become America. And we should thank our lucky stars each and every day for that.
— John Dingell (@JohnDingell) January 29, 2017
Here's what other Michigan Democrats say:
Sen. Gary Peters:
'I am extremely alarmed'
As a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Armed Services Committees, my top priority is ensuring we’re doing everything we can to keep Americans safe. But I am also proud to represent vibrant Muslim and Arab American communities that are integral to Michigan’s culture and our economy.
One of America’s founding – and most sacred – principles is the freedom of religion. I am extremely alarmed by President Trump’s executive order that effectively implements a religious test for those seeking to enter the United States. The U.S. should not close its doors to refugees fleeing the brutality of ISIS, who slaughter all those who disagree with their twisted ideology. I believe there are other areas of our immigration system that are more vulnerable to exploitation, and that’s why I voted for legislation to strengthen the Visa Waiver Program. While I support continued strengthening of the refugee screening process, I remain opposed to the suspension of the refugee admissions program.
Four U.S. House members
from Metro Detroit districts
This statement is posted by John Conyers, Jr. of Detroit, Dan Kildee of Flint, Debbie Dingell of Dearborn and Brenda Lawrence of Southfield:
By seeking to halt all refugee admissions in the short term, and slash the number of refugee admissions to a modern historic low, today’s order betrays our proud heritage as a Nation of immigrants and a place of refuge. And by banning all visas and admissions from exclusively Muslim-majority nations, this order constitutes a thinly veiled ban on entry based on religion, betraying America’s cardinal commitment to freedom of belief.
Throughout our history our Nation has granted safe haven to families fleeing persecution, violence, terror, sexual slavery, and torture. In doing so we have not only acted morally, but we have added to our own strength, vitality and diversity. Unfortunately, the order issued by Mr. Trump today represents an unprecedented break with our humanitarian tradition and role as a beacon of freedom.
As Members of Congress, we take a back seat to no one in our Nation’s 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 data bases. But giving in to our worst fears -- as this order does -- will do nothing to make America safer or weaken our adversaries. This is why we stand united in our opposition to these efforts to divide us, and pledge to work together to reject intolerance, discrimination, and hate however and wherever we can – whether in our communities, in Congress, or in the Courts.
