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Millions of Americans are alarmed and angry about the executive order limiting refugees and immigration that was signed late Friday at the White House.

For some critics, presidential restrictions on U.S. entry hit home in deeply personal ways. A 61-year-old Dearborn journalist, Arab American News founder Osama Siblani, voices outrage:

"This is not an attack on the Muslim community. It's an attack on the Constitution." Siblani tells chief media writer James Warren of Poynter, a journalism site.


Osama Siblani: "We will win this fight." (Facebook photo)

He also calls it a "coup d'etat against what the United States stands for."

Siblani immigrated from Lebanon in 1976 at age 21 and earned an electrical engineering degree in 1979 at the University of Detroit. He worked as an energy company vice president for four years and then started his bilingual paper in 1984 -- a month before becoming a naturalized citizen at a Cobo Hall ceremony president over by President Ronald Reagan.

The Arab American News's weekly print circulation now is 35,000, making it this country's largest Arabic newspaper.

Its publisher and editor has been vocal about Trump's order since the news broke Friday evening. He was interviewed Monday by Michigan Radio and Paul W. Smith of WJR, and spoke Sunday at a Dearborn rally. .  

On Monday, he'll speak at a 5:30 p.m. gathering "to discuss a unified community response to Mr. Trump's unjustified executive order on immigration," as he describes it. The meeting is at the Lebanese American Heritage Club, 4335 Maple Rd. in Dearborn.


Last week's issue, published before the travel restrictions, has a timely main headline.

Here are excerpts from 11 posts in the past three days on his personal Facebook page:

► Friday night: "Trump puked today another one of his sick executive orders. Listen Mr. Orange head: The Syrian Christians are Arab nationalists and don't need your sympathy and sick special treatment. They have more dignity, honor, loyalty and respect for their nation and people than your small brain can gather. Your executive actions will fail and will be brought down by the American people." 

► Saturday: "Bullying innocent people is un-American and plain stupid. . . . We can't remain silent. . . . We aren't alone; the majority of the American people are on our side.The Constitution is on our side."

► Sunday morning: "Explain this Mr. Tweet-in-Chief: America has the largest embassy in the world in Baghdad, Iraq, and yet Iraqis aren't allowed to enter the U.S..Speaking of stupidity in executive orders. "

► Sunday afternoon: "Our fight is not only for Muslims or Arabs, but it is for America and what the country stands for. We are with the majority of the American people, and the Constitution is on our side. We will win this fight."

► Sunday night: "I received a phone call from U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and we had a long conversation about the current crisis -- in particular Trump's discriminatory executive order on immigration, singling out and banning Muslims from seven countries from entering the U.S..The senator asked me at the end of our conversation to relay to our community her commitment to civil rights and her full support for our community as we face this unbelievable attack on our freedom.
"She asked us to remain steadfast, encouraged us to engage with other lawmakers and form [a] coalition with civil right groups across the country to fight back and protect our constitutional rights. While she expressed her solidarity with our community, she affirmed her commitment to join the fight to protect our constitution and the diversity of our society.
"We thank the Senator for her leadership and friendship."