Sen. Dick Durbin Richard (Dick) Joseph DurbinMcConnell focuses on confirming judicial nominees with COVID-19 talks stalled Senate Republicans signal openness to working with Biden Top GOP senator calls for Biden to release list of possible Supreme Court picks MORE (D-Ill.) on Sunday blasted President Trump's sweeping executive order barring refugees and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, saying refugees coming into this country are carefully vetted.

"When it comes to refugees, these children who are coming from war-torn zones, we're going to stop them from coming to this country?" Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, asked on "Fox News Sunday."

"What does it say about us? And what does it say about our vigilance when it comes to keeping this country safe when we target children?"

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Durbin said the president has established a target on refugees.

"And I don't think that is our vulnerability," Durbin said.

"If you want to make America safe, the refugee program is the most carefully vetted program in our government."

The president on Friday signed an order that bars Syrian refugees indefinitely and halts the country's refugee resettlement program for four months.

It also denies entry for 90 days to people from seven majority-Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya.

A federal judge in New York on Saturday night granted an emergency stay temporarily halting the removal of immigrants and refugees detained following Trump's order.