Rob Portman

Sen. Rob Portman said Sunday that the United States needs an immigrant- and visitor-screening process, but one that's handled better than the executive order implemented by President Donald Trump.

(Cliff Owen, Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Rob Portman today joined the criticism of the Trump White House visa and refugee blockade, breaking his silence a day after more than 100 immigrants wanting to come to the United States, as well as foreigners already authorized to live and work here, were held at airports and, in some cases, sent back to their countries.

They included a Cleveland Clinic internal medicine resident who was detained in New York while returning from a trip to visit her family in Saudi Arabia. Because she had a passport from Sudan, she was put on a plane back to the Middle East. Two other Cleveland Clinic doctors were held in New York upon their return from a vacation in Iran but were released after a period of time.

Others held at airports or sent away included refugees fleeing Syria.

Portman, an Ohio Republican who sits on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, did not condemn entirely the idea of stopping some refugees and visitors from countries tied to terrorism. The order halting entry to the United States for 90 days covers travelers from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. They are predominately Muslim countries.

Portman, appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," also said President Donald Trump's executive order, issued Friday, was not a total ban.

"It is a temporary ban, as I understand it. In my view, we ought to all take a deep breath and come up with something that makes sense for our national security and for this notion that America has always been a welcoming home for refugees and immigrants. In fact, we are more welcoming than any country in the world, and we should continue to be so."

Trump appears to disagree with the critics, including crowds of Americans who flocked to airports across the country Saturday to protest the detention of immigrants and visitors. The Department of Homeland Security said today that the program will continue. But White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said on NBC's "Meet the Press" that holders of green cards -- those with lawful permanent resident status -- will not be affected going forward.

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Portman called the order's implementation "an extreme vetting proposal that didn't get the vetting it should have had, and as a result in the implementation we've seen some problems."

The Cleveland Clinic doctor sent back to the Middle East, he said, should not have been blocked from re-entering the United States. "That's not the way to do it," Portman said.

Scores of people with visas or refugee status were held at airports or put back on planes late Friday and Saturday because their home countries were among the seven singled out by Trump's executive order Friday as homes to terrorists who could attack the United States. Those blocked included families fleeing persecution in Syria and individuals who held entry permits previously issued by the United States government.

The fate of a Syrian refugee family scheduled to arrive and be resettled in Cleveland on Tuesday, for example, was thrown into question.

Later Saturday night, a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York temporarily halted what many critics called an illegal ban, saying those returned to their home countries, many fleeing persecution, could suffer irreparable harm. A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, soon thereafter issued a seven-day restraining order to block forced removal of green card holders who were being held at Dulles International Airport.

Trump signed the ban on his eighth day as president, making good on a campaign promise to "make America safe again."

The Trump administration defended the partial ban after the judicial actions, with the Department of Homeland Security issuing a statement early today saying it intended to carry out the executive order "in a manner that ensures the safety and security of the American people." It said less than one percent of international air travelers were inconvenienced.

"President Trump's Executive Orders remain in place--prohibited travel will remain prohibited, and the U.S. government retains its right to revoke visas at any time if required for national security or public safety," the statement said.

The United States government "will treat all of those we encounter humanely and with professionalism," the statement added. "No foreign national in a foreign land, without ties to the United States, has any unfettered right to demand entry into the United States or to demand immigration benefits in the United States."

The executive order excluded some countries that have been tied to terrorism, including Saudi Arabia and Egypt. As a business executive, Trump has formed companies there. As noted by NPR and others, the 19 terrorists in the Sept. 11 attacks were from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, which are not on the president's no-entry list.

Portman withheld comment Saturday amid the protests, emergency court orders and criticism of the Trump actions by Democratic congressional colleagues. Portman's office said at the time he would have something to say on his Sunday CNN appearance.

I oppose President Trump's exec order to turn our

backs on children & families fleeing violence. My full statement: https://t.co/RKODG4qHPB pic.twitter.com/3bZJpke8u2 — Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) January 28, 2017

Sen. Sherrod Brown on Saturday said that while keeping America safe "must be our top priority," it should be done by "aggressively going after terrorism wherever it exists, not by turning our backs on children and families just like ours, whose only goal is to escape violence and persecution."